Two Pieces
by a-promise-of-love-and-life
Summary: Kaleb is running from a mistake. Lindsey is running from abuse. All they want is to be accepted and their only chance of finding that is to work together.
1. Prologue

_There's a boy, lost his way, looking for someone to blame._

Kaleb sat alone on a bench in the quad at his school. He didn't exactly have friends to hang out with or talk too, but he didn't mind much. He was never one for company. Most of the time people left him alone, I mean, who wants to associate with such a freak? Everyone knew he was a mutant, you know, those highly dangerous ones that your parents tell you not to associate with? Yeah, him being the only one in a small school in Oregon, it really made him an outcast. Even his mom didn't really want him.

Like I said, they normally left him alone, but that day wasn't exactly a normal day. Justin and his gang of friends came over to where he was sitting and looked at him, until Justin poked him.

"Hey, freak!" He yelled, although Kaleb sat just a few feet away. Kaleb looked up; giving him that evil look he gave anyone who talked to him. "What are you even doing here, _mutant?_" All his buddies laughed. "You should just leave! No one would even care anyway. You know why? Cause you're a damned _freak!_" Kaleb wasn't sure why he chose today to bully him. He was most likely just bored beating up the same kids and wanted a challenge, more or less. Or maybe he was scared, that's generally why anyone bullies. Either way, he wasn't going to just sit there and take it. He stood up, and although he was the tallest in the eighth grade, Justin came close and they were looking each other eye-to-eye.

"_I'm _the freak?" He questioned.

"Yeah! You gonna do something about it?" Justin gave him a shove.

"Maybe." He said, attempting to shove him back, unsuccessfully. Justin suddenly had a wild grin on his face, now was the time the real beating up happened. His friends backed up, forming a circle. There was more room for Justin to beat Kaleb to a pulp now. His beefy fist went up, ready to land the first punch, but Kaleb wasn't going to take it. He rarely ever pulled this card, but he did not like to be messed with. He looked around and bent the shadows casted by the many people to his will. Any shadow casted became his weapon. He had no intention of hurting him, just enough to scare him. Kaleb was just completely unaware of the strength he possessed.

Kaleb took his collected shadows and bent them into a distorted bear. Justin stepped back, aware of the sudden danger he was in. All his so-called "friends" ran away, off to who-knows-where. With Kaleb now "in control" of his little situation, he decided he needed to end it, in just the right way. He moved his shadow-bear like a marionette puppet, invisible strings tied to his hands. Kaleb lashed out, the bear mirroring him. Justin screamed for help and Kaleb continued to slash. Little did he know he was losing control. He was getting tired, and the bear was falling. He tried to send the shadows back, but it wouldn't break apart. The bear fell like a tree in a forest, and with one last slash of razor-sharp claws, sent Justin falling to ground, blood leaking from a wound in his stomach. The shadows returned when the bear hit, but Justin was still on the ground, writhing in pain.

Kaleb looked down at him in total shock. Justin was dying and he couldn't do anything about it. _It's all my fault._ He thought to himself. _I'm a murderer. _He looked at him again, tears in his eyes. He yelled I'm sorry tons of times, over and over again. He made a realization, he had to run. But everyone would know it was him. There was no one else around, he could make it look like an accident. He turned the shadows from a nearby tree into an axe. He chopped it down in one fluid motion and it fell on a now dead Justin. The axe evaporated and he took off. Through the gates and down the road. He just ran and didn't stop. Tears flew from his eyes and he muttered I'm sorry over and over and over again. He ran until he reached a dirt path, trees lining one side. He stopped when it started raining, and the only thing on his mind was what Justin's last couple sentences had been. _Cause you're a damned _freak!

_There's a girl in the window, tears run down her face._

Lindsey paced in her little bedroom upstairs. Her parents had told her to stay in there until the party was over. Ever since they had discovered her little mutation, they hated her. She truly was treated like a freak in her own home. Generally she would listen, she feared her father above all things. Her father was, unfair and rash. She had many scars, mentally and physically, from her father. At that point, if she had a choice, she would ditch the mutation any day, if it meant her father would love and appreciate her.

Like I said, normally she would listen, but today wasn't exactly a normal day. She would just go down for a second, not long enough to do anything stupid and receive more abuse from her father. She put on her best dress. It was her only dress, but it was better than ripped jeans and an old t-shirt. She tentatively put her hand on the doorknob. The cool metal plus the nerves of what she was about to do was enough to send chills up her spine.

"Ok, if you're going to do this, you have to chill out and relax. Everything is going to be fine." She told herself. She turned the knob and opened the door. "No second thoughts." She stepped out. Then took another step. Then another. Pretty soon she was walking at a normal pace, up the hall, down the stairs. Suddenly she was at the party her parents were hosting. She looked around and spotted some children her age. She walked over to see them playing a game.

"Hey, mind if I join?" She asked.

"Sure." One of them replied.

"What are we playing?"

"Darts." A few said in unison. She watched them play in order to get an understanding of the game. She watched them cheer, the closer to the center the dart landed, the louder they cheered. Someone passed her a dart next. No one had gotten it in the very center, but she picked up on the various techniques. She took a deep breath on the draw-back, and blew out on the release. The dart flew and landed dead center. She and all the others cheered loudly. But Lindsey was the loudest. She felt like _finally _someone accepted her. She jumped around, unaware of the change happening in her body.

Leathery wings sprouted from her back, the cut of the dress allowing them out. Sharp talons emerged from her fingertips and her feet molded into talon-like appendages. Her face elongated and sharp fangs emerged. Lindsey was confused by the sudden silence. She looked around to see everyone in the house staring at her, in all her bat-like glory. She looked herself over.

"Well that's new…" She said, half to herself. She looked over and saw her mom, dad and little sister looking at her. Her father's face was red with rage. Lindsey watched as adults gathered up their children and made for the door. One by one the families left, afraid by what they had seen. They trickled out until only her family was left. She smiled nervously. Her bat features slowly disappeared back into her skin (minus the wings), until she looked like she could be normal.

"I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah. Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Her father spoke. "I told you to stay in your room! And you directly disobeyed me! Now look! No one is ever going to come back! They're going to tell everyone we invited a… a… a mutant!"

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Sorry fixes nothing! I never wanted you as I daughter! You are such a damned _freak!"_ Lindsey looked at her father. How could he say such things? Fathers are supposed to love their daughters, no matter what. Tears streamed from her eyes and she ran up the stairs and into her room. She looked out the window in her room as tears continue to flow. It began to rain outside, as if the whole world was crying with her. _No._ She thought. _No one is crying with me. Dad's right. I am nothing but a damned freak._


	2. My Name is Lindsey Smith

I looked out my window, as I had been for a good two hours. By now my family would be asleep. I thought about the events of the night. If I hadn't had it bad before, I did then. My dad was probably fuming before he fell asleep and was then dreaming of all the things he was going to do to me. And my wings, they didn't go away. I still had them, folded tightly against my back. I decided then that I was going to leave. I grabbed a small bag I had and put a pair of shorts and a t-shirt in it. I had taken off my dress and was wearing jeans with less rips and a long-sleeve shirt. I pulled on a sweatshirt. I was about to exit the room when the door opened. My little sister, eight at the time, stepped in.

"Lindsey!" She whisper-yelled. "I was so worried about you. Dad said some really mean things to you and-"

"Listen Taylor. You know dad has done some pretty bad things to me, right?" She nodded. "I can't deal with it anymore. And now that I know I have a second part to my… You know…"

"You don't have to say it." She reassured me. She truly was a blessing.

"Well, I can defend myself with that. So I'm going to ask you a favor."

"Anything for you."

"I need you to act surprised tomorrow when mom and dad discover I'm missing. Can you do that?" She nodded. "Thank you. You're going to be good for me right?"

"Of course!"

"Awesome. Mom and dad will probably forget about me eventually, but can you promise not to forget?" She nodded again and smiled. "That's my brave girl. I love you." I gave her a hug.

"I love you too."

"You know Tay, maybe someday I'll see you again."

"You will. I know so." I kissed the top of her head and stroked her blond curls. She kissed my cheek. "Good luck."

"Thank you. Now go back to bed." She nodded and scurried back to her room. I wiped away a tear from my eye. _No more tears. _I thought. I slipped down the stairs, swiftly and quietly, and into the kitchen. I stuffed my bag with various foods that wouldn't spoil from the cupboard and a couple bottles of water from the fridge. I went over to the panda bear cookie jar and removed the lid. Taped to the lid was five hundred dollars. I pulled the bills off and stuffed them in the small pocket on my bag. I almost stepped out the door, when I remembered something. I snuck through the house to my dad's office. Above his desk was a decorative, but insanely sharp, dagger. I surprised myself when I reached up and took it from its hangar. I unsheathed it and looked at the blade: cold, shiny steel. And yes, it does hurt. I sheathed it and placed it in my bag. I quickly grabbed the pack of matches from his desk and put them with the bills.

I walked back to the door and very slowly, opened it. I stepped out into the rain, and shut the door behind me. I walked down the road and onto the dirt road. I didn't know what I should think about. My next move? Nah. I thought about my identity, who is Lindsey Smith? Well, I'm fourteen. If I went to school I would be in the eighth grade. I'm around 5'1" and I wasn't sure whether I was tall for my age or not. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. Well, I think they're both blue. I always cover one of my eyes and don't like to look at it. I'm a mutant, very freak-like according to almost everyone. I originally thought that my mutation (I hate that word by the way) was I could sing and make anyone feel almost anything I wanted. My favorite was the lullabies. I now know that that is simply a perk, and I was part bat. I have scars all over my body my worst being-

I never got a chance to finish that thought. I ran straight into a tall boy, about my age. I fell back right into a puddle. He gave me a look that could cut straight through you, so out of self defense I sang an off-tune couple of notes that gave him a temporary headache. He clutched his ears and I stood and began to run.

"Wait! I'm like you! Come back!" He shouted after me. I turned back for just a second.

"Prove it!" I screamed, the tears coming back. Ugh, I was so damn _emotional_. He began moving his hands in a strange motion, like he was bundling string or something. The shadows around the trees disappeared, sucked towards him. He began to do something that looked like he was modeling something with clay. What I guessed were gathered shadows became a physical matter. A monster-ish-thing that sort of looked like a child of giants dressed as a ghost for Halloween, with a sheet and everything, but you know, with claws and fangs. As it disappeared, shadows returned to their original owners, and the kid began to fall to the floor.

I ran back, he had hit before I could catch him and he was panting. I knelt down next to him, but he didn't say anything. His eyes were closed.

"Hey, um… shadow guy? Are you ok? I can see you aren't dead, because you're breathing. Please be ok though." He didn't get up, even when I shook him. I actually got a chance to look at him then. He had dark hair; I couldn't tell if it was black or really dark brown. It was long and stuck to his forehead from the rain. His nose was dotted with freckles. He wore all black, jeans and a t-shirt. I gasped. I knew how to wake him up.

I began to sing. Soft and sweet at first, and as his eyes began to flutter open the song became more happy.

"Ugh, my head hurts. I had the weirdest dream. I was at school and then… something happened to… and I ran and there was another mutant! She was really pretty and…" That's when his eyes opened. "Oh, that wasn't a dream… Just disregard what I said."

I giggled. "It's ok. That… thing you did seems to have sucked you of your energy. My name's Lindsey Smith." He sat up and clutched his knees.

"Kaleb Reed." He said with slight struggle.

"Well Kaleb, if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road?"

"Running." He said simply.

"Me too. I don't plan on returning. Do you?" He shook his head. "Well, we're only lost children. How about we stick together?"

"Well I wasn't planning on trying to find a friend, but sure."

"Cool. So as fellow freaks, I will offer my help to you."

"Ok then." I helped him up and we began trudging through the forest. We walked for a solid half hour before my new friend, Mr. Reed, spoke.

"Do you even know where you're going?" He asked.

"Yep and we're almost there. My family used to go camping there." We entered a clearing with the exact campsite I mentioned. There was a fire pit towards one side, surrounded by wood logs for chairs. The other end was supposed to be for the tent, but neither of us had one.

"I'm going to collect wood for the fire. Don't move around too much, that obviously took a lot out of you." He just nodded as I walked around the site collecting sticks and pinecones. I walked only a few steps into the forest area surrounding us. I came back and placed the collected stuff on the pit. The trees above covered most of the rain and I was able to use a match to light the wood and wood-like items. I sat down a few logs away and just sort of looked him. His eyes were a deep brown and the fire made them sparkle. We were perfect strangers; I had only just met him an hour ago. But here we were, around a fire, each of us knowing perfectly well what the other is capable of. And yet we were still sitting near each other, not even caring! I had known my parents, quite literally since the moment I was born, but they still treated me like I was a freak. I vowed right then to try and someday make the world see that we weren't really so different.

"Thank you." Kaleb said suddenly.

"What for?" I asked puzzled.

"For helping me. And being my first friend."

"Well your welcome. Thank you, for being my first friend." Kaleb smiled. I noticed he was sort of shivering. I walked over, taking off my sweatshirt, and placed it in his lap. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Why are you giving me this?" He asked.

"Because that's what friends do."

"Oh. I've never had a friend, so this whole concept is new to me." He put on the sweatshirt and snuggled into it.

"Green is definitely your color." I told him. He gave me a weird look, like I was insane. "Black is good too though."

"Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?" He asks me after a few minutes.

"Are you?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Me neither." But eventually we do. I end up sleeping in the dirt where the tent should be, but isn't. Kaleb needs three logs just to fit his whole body, though he looked incredibly uncomfortable. I fell asleep wondering if everything was going to turn out ok. _Probably not…_

I woke up early, as I always did. I was slightly confused as to why I was laying in the dirt, rather than in a bed, then I remembered the events of the previous night. I sighed as I sat up.

"Ugh, I need food." I reached into my pack and pulled out a package of Pop-tarts. I ripped it open and pulled one out. "Better not eat too much." I tore it in half. "Better wake up Kaleb." I looked over, expecting to see him asleep on the logs, only to be scared half to death with him sitting right next to me. My first reaction was to scream of course, so I did.

"Try not to scream too loud, it would be a real shame if someone caught us out here."

I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself down. "Ok, please don't do that again. Would you like half of a cinnamon Pop-tart?" I held it out to him. He took it and started eating it. I held out one of the big water bottles out to him "Little sips, I'm trying to make this stuff last." I said taking a sip of mine.

"You got a plan? You know, as to what we're going to do with this little situation we've put ourselves in?" Kaleb asked.

"Not exactly. What do you think?"

"I say right now, we just get away. I want to get away from Cove and Oregon."

"Sounds like a plan. Georgia's the next state over right?"

"Well I'm not the greatest student, but I know that's not correct."

"We need a map." I decided. "As soon as we're away from this town."

"All right, let's start walking." I shrugged on my backpack and we headed back to the edge of the road where we met the night before. The rain had let up over night and only a few puddles remained. As we walked I found myself staring at Kaleb. There was something about him; I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The way his dark hair went a little over his eyes, or maybe it was his mysterious personality. Maybe it was his confidence, but I wasn't sure because I had never had this feeling before and couldn't name it. I thought, maybe this is a special feeling you have for a true friend.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked.

"Am I smiling?"

"Well you have been for a while." I felt my face get red with embarrassment. "Whatever. It looks like we've left Cove and we're coming up on the next town. We can get a map there." I nodded and looked around. We had left the cover of a forest and were in a little more like a desert area, and coming up on another town.

"Where does one get a map anyway?" I asked as we entered a little area with a town center and little shops and restaurants. "A map… store?"

"How about a book store, or library." I nodded. "Keep an eye out, we don't know how hard it's going to be to find." It took me about ten seconds to spot a large building with the word "library" on it.

"There it is!" I pointed out. Kaleb sighed and we walked in. The inside was filled with people but it was completely silent. _And everyone is looking at me and I'm in my weird bat form and everyone is screaming and running and calling me a freak and mutant and my dad is in the center of it all and he's coming at me and I can't take the pain anymore and even Taylor hates me and- _

"Lindsey?" Kaleb put his hand on my shoulder. His touch brought me back. None of that happened, I had just freaked out. "Are you ok? You just stopped and started crying."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. "Just, something in my eye." I wiped my eyes and started walking in. "You coming?"

"Yeah." He had a look on his face, like he knew something. He followed me in and we stopped at an empty table. "I'm going to one of the computers to look at a digital map. See if you can find an atlas. We'll meet back at this table, ok?" I nodded. He smiled and headed over to a desk with a computer.

I had never been to a library before, and had no clue as to where I should start. I went up and down the aisles. Stacks and stacks of books were on the shelves. The only thing I had to go on was that the book would say atlas on it, as I had never seen one. I went up and down every row and none of them said atlas.

"Ugh." I grumbled to myself. A girl, maybe a year or so older than me, came over to where I was standing.

"Having trouble?" She asked.

"A little." I told her.

"What are you looking for?"

"An atlas. Would you happen to know where they are?" She started giggling.

"I can see your frustration!" She continued to giggle. "You aren't going to find an atlas in the fiction section! If you head in that direction you'll find a whole bunch of atlas'." My face got red for the third time that day.

"Oh… thank you." I started walking in the direction she pointed out.

"No problem." I got over there and hey, what do you know! A whole shelf of atlas'! I picked one up and hurried back to the table. I opened it up on the table to a map of the U.S. _Oh, the state next to Oregon is Idaho!_

I was only sitting there for a few minutes before Kaleb came back in a hurry, carrying a few printed pieces of paper. He shoved most of them in the atlas, closing it. He dropped one piece under the table and reached down to get it, taking my bag and the book with him. He squatted under the table, and shoved the book and piece of paper in my bag messily.

"What are you doing?!" I whisper-yelled at him.

His mouth barely moved as he talked. "Just calmly take your bag, put it on and walk calmly toward the exit. Don't act suspicious, just be normal." I took the bag and did as he told me. He walked slightly behind me and we walked through the doors and down the street. I stopped a few feet away from the library.

"What the hell was that all about?!" I yelled.

"SHH!" He put a hand over my mouth. Out of instinct I licked his hand and he pulled away. "Keep walking! As soon as I tell you, run like your life depends on it." I did as he told me. He seemed pretty confident in what he was doing. We walked until we were towards the other end of the town.

"Ok, run now." We both started sprinting down the road. As we ran we came upon a highway. "Stay off the freeway at all costs! Just follow me!" I followed Kaleb as he ran onto the dirt, he started running down a hill next to a lake. He kept his balance. Me? Not so much. I tripped on a rock and was sent into the air. I screeched and closed my eyes, ready to hit. But I never did. I opened my eyes and I was hovering, well sort of. I was just falling a lot slower. My back muscles were working and I was a bat again. I was flying! I was actually flying!

"Woohoo!" I shouted as I flew. I saw Kaleb watching in awe as I dived and rose back up again.

"Lindsey?! That's really cool, but you have to get down! Someone's going to see you!" I didn't want to admit it, but he was right. I headed down and crash-landed next to him. I stood up and began to brush myself off as my bat features disappeared. Except the wings, they stayed.

"Oh wow! I did _not _know I could do that! I mean, I knew I became a bat when I get excited or scared, but flying? Man! I wish you could have done that with me. Remind me to take you with me next time-"

"Yeah, that was cool. But it's really dangerous, someone probably saw you and they're already calling someone."

"Well they can't do anything to us just because we're… what we are." I told him.

"Yeah, but they can bring us back to our parents or take us to separate orphanages. No wait, there are no more orphanages. Whatever! I don't think I can deal with losing anyone else." That was the most emotion I'd ever seen him show.

"Anyone else?" I asked.

"My dad died when I was ten. I still had my mom, but she was so detached. Then she discovered my mutation and stopped caring about me." A tear was streaming down his face. I wiped it away with my thumb.

"I'm not going to leave you." I told him.

"I won't leave you either." He wrapped me in a hug. I didn't want to let go, I wanted to be safe in his arms forever. But hey, we couldn't sit there all night, so we eventually let go.

"We should probably set up under the highway; it'll provide some cover tonight." Kaleb nodded and we headed a few yards over to the underneath area. We sat down in one of the less damp areas and I passed him a piece of beef jerky. There wasn't enough wood and it was too wet to start a fire, so we had to sleep a little closer to one another. Just before we fell asleep Kaleb voice echoed around the cave-like place.

"By the way, we walked all the way to the edge of Idaho."


	3. Caught

Kaleb and I walked along the highway in the dirt. We figured it was the best way to travel with all the signs on the road. As soon as we woke up he said we needed to start walking and that he would explain everything on the way. We had been walking for twenty minutes before he reached over to my backpack. I just handed it to him and didn't ask questions. He took out the atlas and removed the printed papers from it. He placed the atlas gently back in and handed it back to me.

"Ok, I'll be honest. I wasn't on the computers for a digital map. I had been researching this for a while, but I only recently had the guts to actually go forward with it." He handed me one of the papers. It had a picture of what looked sort of like a big school or something like that.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."

"Well, I'm certainly not gifted, academically or athletically."

"That's the interesting part, you don't have to be! The website says it's a highly renowned school, only accepting people with the right requirements. I wasn't able to hack it on the library computer, it would have taken too long and people would have gotten suspicious, but at home I did some hacking and discovered a good portion of the students were neither academically or athletically inclined!"

"And what does that mean for us exactly?"

"Further research helped me realize something, the gifted part of it, means having a _mutation."_ The last word made me flinch. A school made for our kind seemed like the craziest idea I'd ever heard at the time.

"Wow. We have to go! A place where we'll just be accepted… Kaleb, we won't be freaks! Are you sure though?" It seemed too good to be true.

"Yep. You can take a look at these articles on the school. It never directly says it's a school for mutants, but it's implied." I took a look at the other pages and he was right. "Just one little problem," He continued "The school is in Westchester, New York." I may not have been a great student, but I knew enough to know that New York is on the opposite side of the country.

"So basically, if we want to do this, we have to walk all the way to New York."

"Yep. It'll take a while, but I think it's well worth it." I looked him straight in the eye. It was going to be a long time to walk thousands of miles across the country. Plus there's the danger of us getting caught somewhere.

"This is going to be dangerous." I told him. He nodded in response. "There's a chance we'll get lost trying to find our way. There's danger in just walking along a highway."

"Well I got your back." I nodded in a way that said 'I got your back too.' "We'll gain a true home. I think that's enough in itself to keep me going."

"Hey, you want to run? Maybe we have like, increased speed or endurance and can get faster with running." I asked him.

"Sure." He shrugged. "On your mark, get set, GO!" We took off, running through grass and dirt. I had never run much before, so I was surprised when I was able to run and run without even stopping. I figured that Kaleb was just athletic and could just run. I began to laugh at the amount of sheer joy I had built up. Kaleb started to laugh too. I could see he was getting tired; he was beginning to struggle with keeping up. I veered off to one side and gestured for him to follow. I ran down yet another hill and got ready to attempt the transformation. I jumped off and prepared to hit. Of course, I was expecting to not hit and fly. So I was not-so-pleasantly surprised when I hit the dirt and grass and had the wind knocked out of me.

"LINDSEY!" Kaleb slid carefully down the hill after me. My first thought actually wasn't _OW_ but instead I thought to myself:_ Damn, I must have looked stupid. _Kaleb knelt down next to me as I sat up.

"Be honest, did I look dumb?" I asked him.

"A little. Are you ok though?"

"Just a few scrapes and bruises. I'll live." I got up and dusted myself off. "Let's just walk." He nodded and we started heading back to the side of the road. We walked in silence most of the way. I kept looking over at Kaleb, trying to read his facial expression and figure out what he was thinking. My own mind was going like crazy. We were actually going to a place where we could live in safety and not be thought of as freaks, _mutants_.

"I remember there was one time after my father had yelled at me again. I was in my room on the laptop where I learned most of what I know now. He had used the word mutant for the first time, and it freaked me out. I searched up the word and looked at a dictionary website. I'll never forget the definition. 'A strange looking animal or thing'. We aren't even a little human, just… _things._" I had started blabbering and couldn't really stop myself. I did that a lot.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked me with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know… I just started talking and couldn't really stop."

"You're a very emotional person." He said. Well he really just stated it, like it was a fact.

"You were pretty emotional last night." I told him.

"That was a once in a while thing. You just… made me open up. I've only known you for a few days and I just tell you one of my deepest secrets. I don't know… I think you either have a gift or a curse Lindsey Smith."

I thought about that. _Curse. Definitely a curse. Maybe we're both cursed, and every other one like us is cursed too. Damned freaks… _I was starting to frustrate myself. Something suddenly caught my eye on the freeway. There was a car, a minivan, pulling over on the side we were walking on a few yards ahead of us. A guy and a woman stepped out. The woman stayed next to the car, she was dressed in a suit and just looked very official. The guy climbed over the wall separating us from the freeway-it was only like two feet tall-and began walking in our direction.

"Kaleb? I think that guy is coming for us." Kaleb snapped up, his attention on this new guy.

"Well shoot. Ok, just follow me. Do NOT attempt to fly again." He just continued to walk for a moment, then when we were really close and he took off away from the freeway. I followed close behind until we were running the same pace. I actually had to slow myself down so that he wouldn't make a turn or something and I don't see him and I get caught. I had to resist the urge to try and fly again, you don't just fly once and don't ever again. The overwhelming urge to fly was beginning to consume me and I was distracted. This led me to trip over Kaleb (Clumsy me, tripping over someone while trying to make an escape? What a complete and total shocker!) And send us both to the ground.

"I'm sorry Kaleb…" I said while lying on the ground. I saw him gripping his ankle, _I must have twisted it._ I must have hit my head, it really hurt and everything was getting darker. I heard the guy come running up behind us and shout something back at the lady; I couldn't tell what and it was starting to feel like I had cotton in my ears.

"It'll be ok…" was the last thing I heard before blacking out.

When I woke up I was lying on the lower bunk of a bunk bed. Slowly, carefully, I got up and looked around. There were a few other bunk beds in the room and a door to one side. I opened the door and was in a hallway. By then I had remembered what happened.

"KALEB!" I shouted. I needed to find him, fast. I ran down the hall, shouting his name. I ran down a few flights of stairs before hitting the ground floor and running straight into a woman. The same woman we had seen on the highway.

"Well you appear to be in a bit of a hurry. Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to find Kaleb! Where is he?! What did you do with him?!" I began shouting at her.

"Slow down, your step-brother is fine." _Step-Brother?_ I thought to myself. "You're in a group home; we couldn't find a foster home on such short notice. We had to drive through most of Idaho just to get you here!"

"Ok, that's all fine and dandy, but I need to see Kaleb."

"Well he certainly isn't going to be in a home for girls." She said it like I was supposed to know where I was and how it worked.

"Ok, where is he then? Can I see him?"

"He's in a boys home a few miles from here." If I had been drinking something I would have spit it out.

"A few _miles?!_ Ok, can I call him, text him? Video chat? Instant message? Messenger pigeon?"

"We can give him a call." She told me. She led me over to her desk. She picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers. She spoke, asking for Kaleb and explaining why. Eventually she handed it to me.

"I'll just leave you to that." The woman then exited the room.

"Kaleb?" I spoke quietly into the phone.

"Lindsey! Oh my gosh, I didn't think I'd get to talk to you." Kaleb's voice sounded different over the phone.

"Step-brother?" I asked.

"Lame attempt to get us in the same place. Listen, I'm going to come for you, you just have to hang tight."

"Kaleb, it's a few miles. That'll take you much too long, I'm going to come for you."

"How are you- oh…" He figured it out no problem. "But Linds, you've only ever done it once. How do you know you're going to make it the whole way?"

"Just trust me. I'll see you on the other side. Goodbye."

"See you soon." We hung up and I walked back out to the woman.

"Ok!" she said. "We're all going to have dinner and then its lights out." I nodded and she led me back up the stairs and into a long room where there were two long tables. Eight girls sat at one, filling it up. At the other there were seven with a space left for me. I sat down and was greeted mostly with smiles, a few just ignored me.

At the head of the table was a girl who had a sense of seniority above the others there. The two next to her had that too, just not as much. They seemed a few years older than me and appeared to be the oldest at the table. The youngest one was maybe six or seven. The girl sitting next to me was maybe thirteen or fourteen.

"Hi, I'm Isabel." She said.

"Lindsey." The girl at the head of the table glared in our direction. In front of us was a small meal, chicken dinosaurs and steamed broccoli with milk. Everyone around us spoke to one another. Some occasional glances in my direction (I was used to it) until eventually the girl at the head spoke.

"Lindsey, so you're new here. How many before this one?" It took me a second but I realized she was referring to foster homes and group homes.

"Um… none…" I said, as if she should know that.

The girl laughed then got serious suddenly. "I was at my first place for a half an hour before I up and left. What about you? When do you plan on getting out? Or are you one of those kids who is all pitiful and whines to someone every chance they get?"

"What does it matter to you?" I asked. Well I didn't plan on staying long so why should I be afraid of her?

"You're a fighter! Well, didn't think you would be, this being your first place. Welcome home shorty." She didn't speak to me the rest of the night, neither did anyone else. After dinner everyone retired to the bunks and was quickly asleep. Except for me, I was making an escape.

After everyone in the building was asleep, I ran out the door and silently down the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor, I discovered the women from the freeway at her desk in the lobby-like area. Quickly and quietly I hit the floor and began army crawling across the floor. Thank the lord for carpets, I moved without making any noise. As soon as I reached the door I made a realization. _She's going to notice if the door opens! _I thought to myself. _I really need to think these sorts of things through a little better._ I looked around me and found something. A girl's earring! I took the earring and tossed it across the room. It hit the stairs and caught the woman's attention. She got up and went over to the stairs and slowly ascended them. As soon as she was out of sight I opened the door and ran out. I ran a little ways down the street before stopping.

I found myself in a big city, with skyscrapers and everything. I stopped in an alley and found a nice pile of garbage bags to sleep on until I could ask someone about the nearest boy's home. Yeah, because I managed to sleep then.

I did eventually sleep, but my dreams were haunted by Kaleb and my dad and my sister and those girls in the home. I woke up twice as tired as I was when I fell asleep. I emerged from the alley as the sun was rising. The city was already bustling with activity and no one even noticed me. They say the city never sleeps and at that point I was ready to believe it. I myself have always been a girl from some tiny town in Oregon that no one has even heard of before, so this was a huge change.

I was itching to just leap off a building and fly off to find my (dare I say) partner. Of course if I did that I could be flying for hours before I figured out where they were keeping him. I tried asking a few people for help, but my cries fell on deaf ears. Everyone either ignored me or gave me a disgusted look. I needed to figure out my options and gather up my information. _What do I know about this place? Oh yeah, nothing. Wait no, that's not true. The phone number! _I started jogging, trying to find a pay phone. _Oh yeah, no money. Or backpack. Hopefully Kaleb took it. _I walked around, hoping to find a couple cents or something. I was actually considering ramming into a guy just to see if I could get some coins to fall out of his pocket.

I didn't end up having to though. Stuck to a wad of gum was a dollar bill, just in the middle of the sidewalk! I reached over and picked it up; luckily for me no gum was left on it. I ran back because I had just passed a payphone, and stuck in the dollar. I had to think for a moment to remember the number. I guessed on one or two and begged, prayed, that it was the right number.

"Johnsons home for boys, may I help you?" I almost started freaking out.

"Um, hi. I was wondering where your building is located?" The guy gave me an address and I nearly squealed. "Thank you!" I placed the phone back and jumped for joy. I ran down an alley and out onto a road. After nearly being flattened by a car, I ran down the street in the direction of the address. I have no clue how I knew where to go, I just sort of did. As I ran I came upon yet another hill. _I can probably fly faster than I can run. _I thought. As I reached the hill I prepared to jump._ 3… 2… 1!_ I jumped and closed my eyes. When I opened them I was in the air, muscles working. I flexed the muscles in my back to give myself some lift. No one was going to look up and try to find me.

Flying is the most amazing feeling in the world. The wind through your hair, there is no better feeling than that. While I soared above everyone else, stuck to the ground, I noticed a few things that weren't so pleasant. My talons, sharp and black. Probably good in a fight, definitely better than one measly dagger. I hadn't yet tried walking around on the bat's feet, but they probably provided excellent grip. I had only been flying for like five minutes before I reached the address. I was, for whatever reason, completely sure this was it. I touched down on the roof. Less crashing than the first time, but still not smooth. I walked towards the front of the building and fluttered down and checked two windows before coming upon one where Kaleb was.

It looked like a bunk room and he was sitting on a bed. I tapped the glass a couple times with my talon fingers and he looked up. His eyes lit up and he grabbed my bag near his feet. He opened the window, but there was still netting that couldn't be moved. I used a few talons to rip through and he prepared to jump down.

"Maybe I can carry you?" I suggested. "Here, turn around." He turned around and sat there on the edge of the window. I used my bat feet and wrapped them around his upper arms. Turns out I'm strong too, because it didn't take a heck of a lot of effort. He was tall, but also kind of scrawny. I decided to show him how much fun flying is.

I flew up high enough to let him reach out and touch a cloud. He did and smiled as he did. I flew faster, up above the clouds now. His feet dangled into them now. His smile got even bigger as the wind blew through his hair. It quickly became chuckling, to full on unbridled chortling. I started laughing too, I don't know why, it was just the greatest thing.

"Lindsey?!" Kaleb had to yell just for me to hear him.

"Yeah?!" I answered.

"Thank you! This is the greatest experience I've _ever_ had!" I whistled a few notes, my equivalent of 'no problem.' All I wanted was to fly forever and never touch the ground. So I pretended that this was normal, that if someone saw me they wouldn't run screaming. At some point I began singing, a happy song. And Kaleb did the weirdest thing, _he sang along_. So there we were, two freaks in the sky, singing some song somebody wrote during a time when they were at their happiest. And it was everything I'd ever wanted.


	4. The Dark Partnership

**Authors Note: **_Hey look! I finally finished the chapter! Sorry for the long wait, little bit of writer's block, I'll work on updating faster. Thank you guys so much for being patient, enjoy!_

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I did eventually get tired of flying, takes a lot out of you. We touched down near a lake and set up "camp" by a lone tree. Behind us were densely packed bushes. I placed Kaleb down on a patch of dry dirt and sat down next to him. I felt my large ears, claws and other bat features disappear and, although he was trying to hide it, I noticed Kaleb staring at me as they did so. I was going to say something about it, but I generally like to avoid an argument.

"I got your bag." He said, handing it to me. "The girl clothes kind of confused them, but not as much as the dagger, matches and large amount of money would have, had I not expertly concealed them." I reached in the bag and found that a secret compartment had been sliced in the back, where the dagger, matches and money were hidden. "May I ask what the dagger is for, exactly?"

"Um… precautionary measures." To be completely honest, I had no clue why I took my dad's dagger. There were some awful memories surrounding it, and looking at the thing almost pained me. _Then why did I bring it? _I thought to myself.

"Whatever you want to do. They did take all the food though."

"Oh. Great. Well I guess we'll have to go get some more tomorrow." The sun was setting; it almost looked as if the sun was being submerged in the lake. I had somehow managed to fly all day with a few rests and I only dropped Kaleb once! I know, that's bad, but I was still trying to get the hang of it, I only started a few days before.

"What is your mutation, exactly? I've only seen you do it once, from a distance." I mentally slapped myself, what a dumb question!

"I can turn shadows into a solid matter, any shape I want." He spoke without looking up from the ground. He lifted a hand with his palm facing the tree behind us. I watched as the shadow pulled away and into his hand. He brought his hand forward and held up the black, shifting blob so I could look at it. He pulled it into the shape of a rod and wrote his name in the dirt with it. He pushed it back into a blob and then dropped it. The blob reshaped itself and became the tree's shadow once again. He looked up at me and I saw he was sweating and breathing heavily.

"Not too easy for you huh?"

He shook his head. "No. It doesn't make sense really. Shadows are not a physical matter and were never meant to be. I defy the laws of nature! The laws of physics! Why can I go against the very fabric of the world? Turning nothing, into something. It states somewhere that the same matter that is here now, was around when the dinosaurs were around. You cannot create matter, and you cannot destroy matter. But me, I can do both anytime I want. Why?"

I thought about what he was saying. I had just witnessed the impossible happen. Kaleb was distraught, he wanted to know more. But I was fine. I didn't mind at all.

"Maybe it doesn't matter." He shot me a weird look. "Maybe it's ok that you can do the impossible. Most of our kind does some pretty impossible things. I think its ok you defy the laws of nature and physics. That's who you were meant to be. And I guess I was meant to be probably the weirdest living organism anyone has ever seen. I shouldn't exist! But I do. And you do the impossible." Kaleb nodded.

"I guess you're right. Still kind of bothers me though." He lay down on the dusty ground and closed his eyes. "Goodnight Lindsey." The sun was already down, the moon low in the sky.

"Goodnight Kaleb." I whispered. My wings were still out; it was difficult to align them with my spine after flying for hours on end. I lay down a little ways away from Kaleb on my back. It was so cold, the night air breezing over us. Kaleb was asleep, but shivering. I pulled my sweatshirt from the backpack and laid it on top of him. Within a few moments he was no longer shivering. Lying back down, I wrapped my wings around me like I was some sort of bat-burrito. Heat pulsed through them and warmed me up too. Before long I allowed sleep to wrap its arms around me and take me.

"Lindsey. Bat-girl. Come on, get up." I opened my eyes to find Kaleb's face above mine, his expression still ever difficult to read.

"No, I'm still tired." I closed my eyes and turned over onto my side, my wings had slid back during the night. I heard him sigh and I could just picture him rolling his eyes.

"Linds, you need to get up, it's already late."

"Bite me." I said groggily. I've been told I get feisty when I'm tired. He sighed again and I felt him walk over and sit down near my face.

"Get. Up." I opened my eyes again and looked at him. Within a few seconds I had a solution. I opened my mouth and began to sing a lullaby. His eyes started to close as he began to fall back asleep. He caught on quicker than I expected though and plugged his ears.

"Ugh. Fine." I sat up and brushed myself off.

"Thank you. We need to get food and water, so we need to find a town or gas station or something." I nodded.

"How are we supposed to find one?" I asked, gesturing to the nothingness around us.

"Maybe you can fly up and scope one out."

"Um, I'll try." My wings were still really sore and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. I went over to the tree behind us and climbed up to one of the middle branches. I jumped off and attempted to fly up. I only got a few feet before I plummeted to the ground, but it was enough.

"This is like a little fishing town! If we walk down this way there's a path between the bushes that leads up to a little town." Kaleb put the pack on and followed me as I ran. You know that saying "blind as a bat"? Totally not true. I can actually see better than most people and noticed the small dock and the path long before Kaleb could see it. We stopped running when we noticed there was someone with a boat at the dock.

"Well shoot. Ok, just walk normally. Maybe he won't notice us or say anything." Kaleb whispered. I nodded carefully and continued to walk at a normal pace. When we got close he looked up at us and I got a better look of him. He almost reminded me of my grandfather, scruffy and well, old. He had a sailor's way about him. He seemed like the kind of guy I would avoid.

"Well good morning! What are you kids doin' out here on a Saturday noon?"He asked. I opened my mouth and began to say something, but Kaleb elbowed me in a way that said "Let me handle this."

"Very sorry sir, we were just thinking we might see our father out here. He's probably just in the town somewhere, so we'll be heading off." We started to walk towards the path, but the old fisherman spoke again.

"Oh well who's your father?" We just stood there and I looked at Kaleb, hopeful he had one for that.

"Did I say father? I meant dog. It's very important that we find him soon, so we should head into town." We walked briskly towards the path.

"Oh, well good luck finding him!" The man called after us. Once we were in the bushes we started to walk normally again.

"You sure are quick on your feet." I told Kaleb.

"Thanks. You should have heard me when I was telling those children's service guys what we were doing on a highway." We both laughed a little bit. Kaleb was an interesting person. He seemed full of confidence and I'm sure most of the time he can appear strong or tough, but certain things just drove him down. I guess that's just part of it, being you-know-what. He had told me, I make him open up. Why me? Was he more closed off to other people? I could almost imagine how he acts around other people. Probably the strong, silent type. Or perhaps he was more rash, quiet most of the time, but quick to jump up and defend himself. I turn him into something else. He talks to me, telling me his darkest secrets, and is aware of my flaws, silently pointing them out by giving me a dark look or staring at my strange features. It hit me right then. _Scared. Kaleb is scared of me, so he opens up. _

"Wow." He said simply. I looked up and saw the town. Ever seen an old western movie? Yeah, that's what the town looked like. Very basic with only the necessities and a few houses.

"And I thought Cove was small." We walked in and looked around. People were working around their shops, we actually saw a small farm with people up and working. All around children played, running around and tagging one another.

"I guess we can forget about finding a computer. How did you even manage to get us here?"

"Um… Hey look, a general store!" Kaleb rolled his eyes and we began to walk towards the store. To tell you the truth I actually dozed off towards the end of the flight and when I woke up we were above a lake and the sun was setting.

"I'll go in and get us the food and water. You see if we can figure out where we are." Kaleb told me. I nodded and went to go talk to some locals. Now, if you hadn't noticed already, I'm both socially awkward and clumsy, so don't be too surprised at what happens next. I walked up to a nice looking woman to speak to her.

"Excuse me," She turned around at the sound of my voice. "My friend and I just walked into your small town and were wondering, where we are, exactly?"

"Well this here town is called Boonville. You won't find it on most maps so look for Boon Lake; it's actually larger than this part of the town. There are a few houses that belong to the fisherman that are on the lake though." Her voice had a bit of a twang and she was so full of smiles.

"Thank you. I know this will seem very strange, but can you please tell me what state this is?" A confused look crossed her face.

"Well you're in Idaho sweet pea! Where else would you be?"

"Right of course. Idaho is just where I need to be. Thanks a ton." We were standing right near the bushes that separated Boonville from Boon Lake and it looked like it was on a hill. I turned around and it was almost like everything happened in slow motion. I ran right into a guy pushing a wheelbarrow full of potatoes, knocking them all to the floor. Kaleb walked out of the store at that exact moment. He began to run over, but we both knew he wasn't going to make it in time to stop me from falling down that hill. He pulled the shadows from the people around him and they became a whip at his commanding touch. He lashed it out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me back to where he was standing, right in the middle of town. We looked around and everyone in town was staring. He dropped the shadows and they went back to their owners. We heard murmurs, most including the word "mutant" several times. They all cautiously walked toward us.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered quietly to Kaleb.

"Shh." As they walked they got louder.

"Mutant. Mutant. Get rid of the mutant. Save the girl, get rid of the mutant." One person came up and grabbed my arm, snatching me away.

"Kaleb!" I shouted as they pulled me in. The lady I had just been talking to held on to me and started pulling me away from the crowd.

"You need to stay away from him, he's a mutant. I'll take you somewhere safe."

"No! Kaleb! Kaleb hold on!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me, hoping he could get away.

"Your Kaleb is dangerous. He probably didn't even tell you he was such a freak. Damned things." Right there, right in that moment, I was so scared. I was scared they were going to hurt him and I needed to save him. I felt it, my face was elongated and I could feel my fangs. My wings came out the holes they had ripped in the back of my long sleeved shirt. My hands became claws and I had lost my shoes a long time ago, my feet becoming bat-feet. My ears moved to the top of my head and became tall, my already enhanced hearing becoming better.

"KALEB!" The lady released her grip and stared at me. "Don't mess with the dark partnership." I made that name up right then and there, really just to scare her. I ran back towards the crowd, singing loud to give them headaches. They all dropped to the ground, clutching their ears and moaning. Kaleb was smart and had plugged his ears. I grabbed him around his upper body and took off, over the brush and to safety.

"Thanks." He said.

"Oh no don't thank me! I'm the one who got you into that mess in the first place. I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. You sure are clumsy though."

"Yeah, I'm working on it. Oh, and by the way that was Boonville Idaho. Won't show up on most maps, but Boon Lake does." He nodded thoughtfully.

"The dark partnership?" He asked in an almost mocking tone.

"Well I don't know. Shadows, obviously dark, and when most people think bats they think 'oh no! scary bats!' so, dark. It was really just to scare her though." He nodded again.

"Well I kind of like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Let's keep it. Oh! And also, we should get to the freeway again."

"Oh! Yeah, let's do that. Maybe we can make Wyoming by tomorrow night."

"Did you say Wyoming?" he asked, suddenly very curious.

"Yeah. Why? Something wrong with it?"

"No, let's just hurry to the freeway." There was something in his voice; I couldn't quite make it out. It was almost like he was choking on his words.

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." We neared the freeway and I preformed another excellent crash landing in field.

"Ready?" I asked. He nodded briskly and we set off, towards Wyoming and who knows what else.


	5. Death and Revenge

**Authors Note:** _Wow, ok. Been almost a month since last update. So sorry, but hey its here now! You won't have to worry about waiting a whole month for the next one because it's already been written! So yeah. Enjoy!_

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We walked somewhat close to the highway, but not enough for anyone to notice us. As we walked I just talked about the most random crap while Kaleb occasionally nodded his head to show he was listening. Kaleb had been really awesome and offered to carry the bag for me, it made it really uncomfortable with my wings. He took it off and pulled out the atlas.

"You sure picked a good one. Heavy, but it's got close up maps of every state." He flipped through until he got to Idaho. "Boon Lake… Oh wow. Looks like we're pretty darn close to Wyoming. If we're fast we might just make the border by nightfall."

"I just realized how far we haven't gotten. Can I see that for a second?" He handed me the atlas and I turned to the page with the map of the U.S. "See? Look at all these states we have to cross still."

"It's ok. I'd cross anything to get to the school." I nodded. I stopped talking and just looked at him. He seemed really eager. Happy, excited even. I had only known him for about a week, but I knew him well enough to say he doesn't get excited about too many things.

I wish I could tell you more happened, but it didn't. We walked, ran and walked some more. Talked about dumb stuff and walked in silence. Right around the time it got dark we saw a large sign near the road. It read simply "Welcome to Wyoming!"

"Kaleb look, we made it!" He looked up and he turned to me.

"Wow." He said simply. "Want to set up camp for the night?" He asked. We went behind a small outcropping of rocks and I started collecting firewood. Kaleb decided on what portion of the food we should eat while I started the fire. We sat around it soaking in the warmth and eating a granola bar each and small sips of water. I fell asleep quickly. I dreamt of what the school would be like and what sort of people like us we would meet. Of course, I can't fall asleep without having the same nightmare.

It always takes place in the school I went to until age seven. I was on the playground with the kids I hung out with; I won't call them friends because if they really had been my friends they would have reacted differently. We were running around, playing. We ran over to the jungle gym and climbed the ladder onto it. As we ran up the stairs I tried to will myself to wake up, with little success. If I had known what was going to happen when it did I would have run for my life.

Now, up until then singing had been a major passion for me. Every day I sang. My parents loved it. While they had a new baby at the time, they still treated me like their little princess and they would both sit on the couch while I preformed for them. The kids I hung out with knew I loved to sing and they all told me I was "so amazing." We were going up to the top so we could all sing together, our favorite song at the time. It was slow song, like a lullaby really. We got there and I was a slave within my own young body. I sang, boy did I sing. I was so loud, everyone on the playground turned to look. The other kids I was with just stood back and let me have the spotlight. It was everything I could do to just bare myself for what was about to happen. Every single kid dropped to the ground.

A young me was very convinced I had killed them. I screamed and teachers came running. They were panicked. They asked me what had happened and I told them. I cried hysterically and no one knew what to do. They couldn't wake them up. I didn't know when it had actually happened, but the only way was for me to sing them awake. Or wait eight hours. I couldn't though; I couldn't bring myself to even open my mouth. The teachers knew what I was. None of them would even touch me. They really had no choice but to call my dad to pick me up. He came and grabbed my wrists and dragged me away, saying that I wasn't going to be coming back.

My dream skips our move to Cove, but neither of my parents really spoke to me and I wasn't allowed anywhere near Taylor during that time. My dream skips to where I see my dad drinking. A time lapse where he becomes an alcoholic. The first times he hit me, cut me. I stopped waking up screaming a long time ago, so I was just sort of waiting to bolt upright, panting. But I didn't. It was adding on. All the things that had happened to Kaleb and I, just the bad stuff. The last thing I saw before waking up was Kaleb yelling at me. Telling me he didn't want me around anymore. This time I did wake up screaming.

"Shh. You're going to cause an accident." I look over. Kaleb sat next to me, those intense eyes locked on me. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a nightmare." I stood up and brushed myself off. "Ready to go?"

A confused look crossed his face for a split second then he focused. "Yeah, but can I ask a small favor?" He stood and looked me in the eyes.

"Sure, anything."

He pulled out the atlas and opened it up to the map of Wyoming. "Well you know how my dad is dead and all?" I nodded. "Well he wanted to be buried where he was born and he was born in Wyoming. I've only been to his grave once and that was seven years ago when he actually died. The cemetery is right along our path and I was thinking we could stop there. I really want to go and pay my respects, and see him again."

"Kaleb, of course! This is obviously really important to you. You know what; I'll even fly us there!"

"Thanks." He gave a small smile. We pulled ourselves together and got ready to hit the road. Or sky. I don't know.

"How are we going to do this…?" I asked mostly myself. "I can't carry you unless I transform… and I can't really do that on command…"

"You said you transform when you're excited or scared right?" Kaleb asked. I nodded in reply. "Then just think about something that either excites or scares you." I nodded again and climbed up the rocks. I sat on the edge with Kaleb below, so I could grab his arms when I did.

I wasn't sure what excited me, but I was scared of plenty of things. I closed my eyes and pictured my dad. The dagger in my bag. It all happened so fast, the transformation, that I almost didn't feel it. I opened my eyes and wrapped my feet around his upper arms. I spread my wings and attempted to lift off.

"Kaleb, jump a little, I need some lift." He did as I asked and we were in the air. I had to get really high; if anyone saw I'm not sure what I'd do. I flew with the atlas in hand and headed in the direction of which I was absolutely certain was where the cemetery was. Took about two hours to fly halfway through Wyoming to where it was. We landed just outside in the cover of some bushes and trees. We waited a bit for my bat features to go away, Kaleb making little effort to hide his staring.

"Are you ready?" I asked. He nodded back solemnly and we headed for the gates. A huge brick wall surrounded the place and a large, creepy looking gate sat between us and countless headstones. It was opened slightly and we just walked through. I allowed Kaleb to lead the way as we weaved through. It was set up like streets. An open grass strip down the middle where we entered and little paths that broke off where the graves sat. We walked a while down towards the back and Kaleb turned back to look at me before turning down a row. He stopped and looked at a large one and I stood next to him. Engraved on it was "Henry John Reed; loving son, husband and father. 1968-2006. R.I.P."

Kaleb sunk to his knees and reached out a hand to touch the stone. He began to speak quietly. "Hey dad, it's me. Your son? Yeah. Um… listen, I know it's been a while, but I miss you. Mom misses you too. I wish you had been there, when mom saw me for what I really am. I think, maybe you wouldn't have cared. You could have been there for her. Maybe my life could have been normal." He started crying, his tears hitting the grass in front. "Dad, I wish you could come back. Why did you even have to go?" He couldn't continue. Tears welled up in his eyes and fell quickly. He sobbed and every part of me felt for him. I knelt down next to him. I opened up one wing and wrapped it around him. He reached a hand up and pushed my wing back, away from him. I stood up and stood back.

He reached out a hand for the shadows around the stones. He pulled and pushed on the shifting blob until it became three shadow flowers. He placed them down, but the second he let go they went back to their owners. I tried again, kneeling down and pulling him closer to me with my wing. He didn't push me away, he allowed himself to be warmed and held. He continued to cry, and I eventually started crying with him, for him. There was something about it, being so close, having his body next to mine. It was… amazing. Fantastic. Wonderful. I almost wished we could just stay like that forever.

"Thank you." He said after a while. "I think we should keep going."

"Are you sure?" I asked as we stood up. "We can stay as long as you want."

"No, we need to get going. The sooner we can get to New York the better, right?"

"Ok, if that's what you want to-" I stopped in my tracks as we turned around. A young guy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, was standing in the row behind us, mouth agape. When we looked at him he gasped and reached into his pocket. He pulled a switch-blade out and held it towards us.

"Don't come any closer." His voice shook. "I'll report you; my dad's going to hear about this."

"Ok, what did we do? We came here to mourn. Do you pull a knife on every person who comes and mourns?" I asked.

He gulped audibly. "Well no, but… Look, mutants aren't allowed here. No one in this town takes kindly to filth like you two." I sighed and looked at Kaleb. He nodded and we turned towards the teenager.

"We don't want to have to do this, but you made a horrible mistake." We walked towards him and he started freaking out. I let out my wings and Kaleb picked up a shifting mass of shadow. We spoke in unison.

"You don't mess with the Dark Partnership." I sang something and he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Kaleb dropped the shadows and I pulled my wings in. I jumped over him and turned around. Kaleb picked up his blade and knelt down. Next to the guy he sliced two letters in the ground: DP. He stood up, flicked the blade in, and shoved it into his pocket. He ran back over to me and we took off down the road. I think we both knew we had to leave since this was a town of mutant-hating people. We went down a few roads before hitting a freeway.

We walked along in silence. All I could think about was what Kaleb said to his dad. He acting so mysterious most of the time and only a few things opened him up, things that confuse him and intense emotions. I guess he was just trying to close himself off; he lost the people he was closest to. After a long while, once the sun was beginning to set, he looked up and spoke in a soft voice.

"Hey, uh… Lindsey?"

"Yeah?" I asked, looking at him.

"My dad lived in that town until he was old enough to leave. I found out today that everyone there hates mutants. A whole freaking town of people that despise us! Ever since I discovered what I am, I thought to myself that, if my dad were around that he wouldn't care and would have convinced my mom that I wasn't so bad… now I don't know. That was like, the only thing keeping me going."

"Well, your dad loved you a lot, I'm sure. Dads love son's right?" He nodded. "Well, I'm sure he would have loved you. That's how families are supposed to work, right? With unconditional love. I don't think he would have cared."

"Well I guess. From what bits I can gather of what you tell me, you didn't have the greatest home life. I guess not all families have unconditional love."

"That's why we're together though. We have like… a connection. Suckish home lives, mutations. I'll stick by you, no matter what. We're partners."

"Thanks." A slightly concerned look crossed his face, then disappeared; his mouth a straight line. His expressions were getting easier to read the longer I spent with him.

We spent whole days like this. Days turned to weeks and somewhere along the way we hit Nebraska. We told one another about our families and lives before this journey. Although, we ran out of food quickly. We needed to find a gas station or something. We veered off the road and into a rest stop. They were all over the place, these states were wastelands.

Kaleb had gone inside to get food and he was going to make me wear shoes if he could find some cheap flip-flops. My original shoes had been torn up and destroyed when I made my second transformation. While we were there the gas part was extremely busy, all spots were taken except one. A girl, maybe in her late teens or early twenties stood there. Her hair was mess, her clothes dirty, a simple brown messenger bag over her shoulder. She was a tatterdemalion. She wasn't really doing anything, she was just sort-of, there. As Kaleb walked out, the bag now full, a guy in what I was guessing was a really nice car pulled into the station. He stopped near her and started yelling at her to move. In return she simple stuck out her tongue, but her tongue was long, unnaturally long, and purple and forked. That's when he really started going at her.

He began pulling his car in, when she protested he started calling her some bad names, like damned freak. Others I won't repeat. Eventually she had the get out of the way though. She stormed off in our direction, but went straight past. I turned to Kaleb and quickly went back to follow her.

"Hey!" I called. She turned towards me.

"What do you want?"

"Listen we know how you feel." I opened my wings up ever so slightly and then pulled them back under my shirt. I had her attention. "We're going across the country to a safe haven in Westchester, New York. I guess we're also sort-of fighting for mutant rights along the way. We're the Dark Partnership."

"Well thanks, I'm headed there as well. I don't think I want to join though."

"We understand." I continued. "But we'll make sure that guy pays."

"Thank you. I'll help with this fight though. Good luck." She smiled and then turned away, fighting her own fight, her own journey.

"That was a cool thing you did. Slightly ramble-y, but you're getting better." Kaleb said, turning back towards the front of the store.

"Thanks."

"How are we going to get this guy back?"

"We're going to steal his car." He gave me a look. "What? We might as well benefit from it. And look, everyone else is gone." The son of a bitch was still there, but it looked like the pump wasn't working or something. He pulled it out and stormed off to the store. When we were sure he wasn't looking we ran up. Before jumping in, Kaleb took the knife out and put the initials DP on the pump. Kaleb got in the driver's seat and by some weird stroke of luck we found a paperclip and a penny in the front console. I knew how to hotwire a car and had it running in a few seconds. Kaleb stepped on the gas and we were out of there.

"Do you even know how to drive a car?" I asked.

"My cousin taught me last year." We sped down the freeway, and according to the GPS on the front console we could be there in a little over eleven hours.

"Kaleb?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to make it!" We laughed from joy. It was amazing, we were actually going to get there. "Woohoo!"


	6. Welcome to Hell

**Author's Note:**_ Ok, so i wanted to wait for a little bit before uploading this, but it was already written and i couldn't really help myself. This is also the longest chapter I've ever written, for anything. So, there you have it. Enjoy!_

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Kaleb drove for all day and slightly into the night. I tried to make small talk, but he needed to concentrate. Hours upon hours cooped up in a car does not make me super happy. So far though we had gone through Wyoming, Iowa, and Illinois and we were half-way through Indiana. No one had started yelling at us and we weren't being chased by police, so I figured we were in the clear.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard. _10:26._ I figured it was ok to fall asleep, so I leaned my head against the window and began to doze off. I hadn't closed my eyes for very long when I heard honking. I opened my eyes and Kaleb had begun to fall asleep. We were veering into the wrong lanes and were about to get hit by a truck.

"KALEB!" He woke up and steered us back towards the other side of the road. "Jesus, at least pull over if you're starting to sleep…"

"Sorry… Can you pass me an energy drink?" I reached into the bag and grabbed one for him. I opened it so he could concentrate on the road. We kept on for another couple of hours and on the edge of Ohio, right near Pennsylvania, the car died.

Kaleb pulled over and let go of the steering wheel. "That was hell." He said simply.

"Want to continue on foot?" I asked.

"Yes please." We got out and began walking along the side as we had been before. We quickly started running to get as much distance between us and the car before setting up and camp for the night under some tree cover. We slept on the ground once again; I was actually beginning to miss my own bed at home. _Linds, stop thinking like that. That stupid place is not your home. _I tried to have a peaceful sleep for once, but I still had the nightmare and I still bolted up in the morning feeling like I just had a heart attack.

"Do you have nightmares often?" Kaleb asked, sitting right next to me once again.

"Do you watch me while I sleep, or something?"

"I asked first."

"Yes, yes I do. Answer my question."

He looked down at the ground. "If that's how you want to put it."

"It's all right, I don't really care." We pulled all our stuff together and started trudging on to Pennsylvania. This was the home stretch; we were so, _so_ close. I really don't think anything could have prepared us for what happened later that day.

Half-way through the day and a little ways into Pennsylvania, a white van pulled over near us.

"Kaleb, I think it's child services." His head snapped up and turned towards the van.

"No, that van is too big."

"Yes, well those guys are headed right for us." Two heavily muscled guys had gotten out and were walking towards us.

"Run." He said simply. We turned away and started sprinting. I turned and looked back to find the guys were running and much, much faster than we were.

"Kaleb? I don't think we're going to make it."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?" I nodded. "Then get us as high as you can." I jumped up and spread out my wings, getting higher and higher off the ground. I couldn't do the transformation though. One of the guys got a hold of Kaleb, but he slipped and was sent tumbling down a rocky slope, tearing his clothes and giving him cuts and bruises. At the same time the other guy grabbed my leg and I was sent down the same hill receiving minor injuries. We tried to stand, but we were both injected with needles by the guys. Within seconds the world went black and the last thing I saw was Kaleb's desperate face.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again my arms were being held behind my back and I was being escorted by the same muscle guy. I was in an extremely large, dimly lit room; cages all around me. Inside them? Kids. Kaleb was next to me, also being escorted.

"Lindsey?" He whispered. I looked up at him. "I think we're in some kind of science facility. Don't show your mutation off anymore than you did by the freeway." I nodded in reply and looked up. We had stopped in front of two cages, one attached to the ceiling, the other on the floor. I was led up a ladder hooked to the ceiling cage and just tossed in. The ladder was removed and Kaleb was thrown in his cage. There really was no way out. The cages were reinforced steel. The walls also steel, rusty in some places. The floor was concrete and to one side of the building was a large set of steel double doors, with a large clock and calendar above them. I sat there, unable to do anything and just waited. For what? Maybe a miracle.

I sat in the goddamned bird cage in the goddamned science testing facility above Kaleb in his goddamned cage, wishing we could both get the hell out of there. I was done. I'm pretty sure Kaleb was done. Not a lot had been done for our wounds, though they were slowly healing by themselves, or the state of our clothing. Little food had been given to us, but we ate every crumb we were given. I looked down at Kaleb and then at the rest of the children there. I'm pretty sure everyone there was a mutant, kids ranging everywhere from five year olds to sixteen year olds. Most had given up on trying to get out, though a select few were using lightning or whatever their mutation did for them to try to get out. Neither of us had even used our mutations yet, we knew that's what they wanted out of us. They wanted to find out our mutation and then test it. See just how far it went and push us to our very limits.

We knew this because almost every day a kid was taken from either the ground cages or the hanging ones (Not many were empty, it really was sad) and led through the back door. Hours later they returned bruised, bleeding, burned, you name it. They always came back though. Neither Kaleb nor I had been taken yet, and we didn't want to be. We had absolutely no clue what was back there and I was terrified. If Kaleb was, he didn't show it.

The sound of the reinforced steel door opening sliced through the silence. One woman in a white lab coat and four muscular guys that always came with the person in the lab coat walked through. They walked down towards our aisle and began walking down it. No one knew who was going to be chosen, but the one of the big guys held a ladder, so they were coming for one of the hangers. As they got closer my heart pounded in my chest and I was afraid that everyone there could hear it. They stopped and I took a quick intake of breath. They had stopped in front of me.

The guy with the ladder held it out and attached it to the edge of my cage. It didn't swing; it was very much attached to the ceiling. A different one of the big guys began to climb the ladder, a silver key around his neck. Kaleb stood and looked up, panic all over his face. I stood and backed towards the other end of the cage. This guy was coming for me, I didn't know exactly what they were going to do to me, but I knew it was going to hurt. When he reached the top he grabbed the key and put it in the lock, turning it quickly. He opened up the door and I was out of places to go. His large body barely fit through the door, but he was getting closer. My wings slid out from behind me. I'm not too sure what they were good for, and Kaleb had said to keep our mutations to ourselves as long as we could so I couldn't attack him with claws or teeth or sing him to sleep. So I did what any normal person would do.

"Kaleb! KALEB!" I screamed for help from someone whom was unable to give it.

"Lindsey!" He ran towards the other side of his cage and looked up at me, completely helpless.

"AAH!" I screamed in sheer panic. "Oh god Kaleb! What do I do?! Kaleb!"

"Linds, I'm so sorry. I can't do anything! Just be strong!" I shrunk back into what little corner there was. Tears began to run down my face.

"Kaleb... Kaleb…" I began to just whisper his name over and over again. The big guy grabbed my wrists and led me out of the cage. Once down the ladder my wrists were cuffed by another guy. The ladder guy grabbed the ladder and key guy and the other dude each grabbed one of my wings. Cuff dude held the chain between each cuff. I turned around to look at Kaleb. He was as close to me as he could be from his cage, his hands gripping the bars so hard his knuckles where white. Looking at his face was enough for me to stay sane enough to not just start screaming. We walked down the hall, my wings aching from the strain the guys were putting on them. They were obviously unaware of how delicate they are. Every person I passed had a solemn look on their face, sorry for me, because every person there had already been through the first time going through. The woman who walked ahead opened the door and I was lead through.

Through the door was a long hallway, doors on both sides. I was lead through the very first door and into yet another dimly lit area. They needed some new bulbs or something, cause they could not light a room. It was a basic square room with the rusting steel walls like in the other places in that building. Attached the floor were two long-ish chains with handcuffs on the ends. Cuff guy undid the ones I was wearing cuffed me to the ones on the floor. The two other guys released me and they all lined up in front of the door. Lab coat chick stood in front of me. I struggled with the chains, to no avail.

"Trust me, no matter what your mutation is, you can't break those." The woman said. Behind her was a table. I couldn't tell what was lined up on it though, it was too dark. Next to the table was yet another reinforced door. The woman picked a clipboard with a bunch of papers on it up from the table and pulled the pen from behind her ear. She knocked lightly on the door with the back of her hand.

"Sir, the subject you requested is here and ready." A few seconds later a tall, old man wearing a suit and looking generally very official walked out.

"Thank you." His voice was deep. The woman bowed her head and then lifted it. "Well, I've heard some interesting things about you and your partner." The man was speaking to me. "I've heard you have a very prominent feature to your, _mutation._ Oh, very sorry. I have yet to properly introduce myself. I'm Mr. Lomnek, I'm the one who founded and runs this facility." I decided right there I really hated this guy. "Now, might I see them?" I just gave him a look. A death glare of sorts. "Your wings darling. Let me see them."

"Why should I?" I really hated this guy. His mocking use of the word"darling." The way he said mutation, like it was a disease.

"Oh dear, I will give you many reasons not to defy me."

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

"It doesn't have to be darling. Just let me see them." This guy could keep his cool.

"No." I said simply. I didn't have to do anything for him, my mutation is my business.

"You've brought this on yourself my dear." He motioned for the guys in the back. One stepped forward and grabbed my blonde, tangled hair. I cried out and he shoved me to my knees. "Just show me, and I won't have to continue." I shook my head. I was afraid if I spoke I would cry. He made another motion with his hands. Two more stepped forward and stood behind me. "One more chance darling."

"Never." I spoke soft, but firm.

He sighed. "I'll just have to force them." He made yet another hand motion. The two guys each grabbed the end of a wing and pulled. I tried to pull them in, but they were still stronger while I was in my weakened state.

"Agh!" I cried out from the pain. They were pulling the wrong way and I was afraid they would snap. "Kaleb…" I whispered under my breath. I don't know why, but when I said his name it made some of the pain go away.

"Can you leave them out for me now darling?" I bit my lip and nodded, a tear rolling down my cheek. He waved his hands and the guys let go and walked back to the door. I let out a sigh of relief and let my wings out, the right way. I kept my head down though, I didn't want him to see the pain on my face. He walked around to take a closer look at them.

"Fascinating…" He said quietly to himself. He reached out a hand and moved one of the slits in my shirt, probably to look at where they attached to my back. He touched the place where it turned from wing to back and I ever so slightly flinched.

"Nature is strange in the way some are put together. You are quite tolerant for pain. Most are begging for mercy the second one of my men touches them, but you? Part of this mutation isn't it."

"I doubt my mutations got anything to do with it." He suddenly became very curious.

"Oh? Then what has it got to do with darling?"

"I'm a mutant, hated and feared by most. My dad's an alcoholic who gets violent when drunk. You put the pieces together." Mr. Lomnek practically laughed.

"Oh, well my dear I'm quite sorry."

"Doubt it…" I said under my breath.

"Oh, well I guess you aren't lying to me. How many scars like these do you have?" He was looking on the parts around my back and my arms.

"Fifty-six. And if I wanted to I could tell you the date, reason and drink responsible for each and every one."

"Well my darling if you cooperate as horribly as you have today you are bound to have more." I looked up at him. This was a threat. A plain threat to cut me as my father did.

"This isn't the only part of your mutation my dear, I can tell. As you may have figured out by now, you can either show me voluntarily or I will show myself. Your choice."

"I rarely do anything voluntarily while chained up." He sighed again. He motioned again for his guys to come over. The three that had hurt me earlier came over. One of them yanked my hair, again. I just cringed, trying not to show how much it hurt. Most people can't hurt me so easily; I've been through a lot. These guys were different. They pulled my wings again, the right way this time, and held me back, so I had to look at this Mr. Lomnek. He went back into the dark and picked something off of the table. The dagger. My dagger. He unsheathed it and held it up to what little light there was. I knew that if you looked close enough you could see places where my blood hadn't come off.

I did everything in my power to try and get away, but with the combination of the chains and three heavily muscled guys holding me in ways that caused serious pain, there was really no escape. He kneeled down to look me in the eyes. He held the dagger up to my face and just sat, looking from my face to the dagger and back.

"All you have to do is show me what else you can do; it really is that simple my dear."

"Even if I wanted to I couldn't. It takes a serious amount of training I just don't have."

"Suit yourself darling." He began to make a clean cut, right down the side of my face. It was almost like being back home, but I could have run away at any time. And right then I was so incredibly scared. Nothing scares me more than my dad, and this guy was being a lot like him. I screamed at the very thought of him. My fear was beginning to have its effect on me. My face got longer, the fangs came out. My hands and feet turned to claws. My ears moved to the top of my head and got long and furry. My wings just shot out, surprising the two guys enough to let go.

Mr. Lomnek had stopped cutting as soon as my transformation begun. Blood was running down my face, getting caught in the fur.

"Beautiful. Absolutely stunning." He said, standing up. He wiped the blood off the dagger with a cloth on the table and put it back. He made a motion with his hands and the dude let go of my hair and walked back to the door. I was running short on breath. That sort of brought back traumatic experiences. I didn't do it for him; I did it out of fear. "You are a beauty. I'm very excited to work with you in the future."

"You don't really think I'm beautiful or stunning." I told him scornfully. "You think I'm horrifyingly hideous. Disgusted by me. I have a face only appreciated by other mutants. You, you are simple, a homo sapien. Just a regular human. Me? I'm not. You don't think I'm beautiful or stunning, you see me as another one of your various ugly experiments. And you know what? You can go to hell!"

"Well it's a real shame you are so uncooperative my dear. And I know you didn't show me on purpose. You were afraid; you were reminded of bad times. Pain won't get you to cooperate, you are unique." As he talked he looked at my bat features. Touching my muzzle, my ears and my claws. I tried to back away, I didn't want him doing this, but I had no choice.

"You're a monster." I told him simply.

"Bring in the next one, subject below her." Mr. Lomnek told the lab coat chick. The one below me was Kaleb. He was going to hurt him. He can't stand pain like I can, no one could.

"If you so much as touch Kaleb, I can promise you-" I began.

"Promise me what, darling? As you can see, you aren't capable of doing really much of anything." He got a thoughtful look on his face. "Unless… there is something you are not showing us, or telling us. You are capable of more. We will find out what it is, but not now." He turned back to the lady. "Take her back, bring the next."

One of the big guys came forward and took the cuffs off. Then put on the other ones. Two more came and grabbed my wings. The woman went first and led us back out of the room and into the cage room. I was lead back down my row, up the ladder, my cuffs were taken off swiftly and I was tossed in the cage. I just lay down on the bottom for a few moments, trying not to start crying. The sound of the door below me opening was enough to send me straight to my feet.

One of the guys was going in there to get Kaleb. Kaleb was backing up to the other end of his cage.

"KALEB!" I shouted down. "Kaleb, no! Don't hurt him!"

"Lindsey, it's ok, I'll be ok." He was about to be tortured and he was telling _me_ it was ok. As the guy got closer he began to throw punches and kicks. The guy avoided every one. He grabbed one of Kaleb's arm and then the other, and held them behind his back. As he lead him out and down the aisle tears ran down my face.

"Kaleb! Kaleb, just tell them! Don't get yourself hurt! Please, please…" I was begging him. All I wanted was for him to be safe.

Before he got too far he turned back one more time. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." And he was gone. I began to cry, knowing what they were capable of.

"Hey, um, miss?" The person in the hanging cage next to me spoke in a sweet, innocent voice. I looked up at her. She was young, maybe six or seven. Everything about her reminded me of Taylor. Her wide blue eyes, her short, blonde hair that looked as if it was curly once. She wore a tattered dress, that was probably once a bright pink.

"Yeah?"

"Your friend, he'll come back. They always come back. You shouldn't worry so much."

"I know he'll come back. I just hate to see him in pain. I don't want them to hurt him."

"I wish I could tell you I understand. I don't know what it means to love someone the way you two love one another." I was taken aback. This little girl was so mature for her age, I didn't understand.

"Love? Why would you say we 'love' one another?"

"Are you guys not boyfriend and girlfriend? I mean, he can't your brother, you two look nothing alike."

"No, it isn't like that. He's my best friend, my partner. We're the Dark Partnership."

"Wait, that's you guys? Oh my gosh you guys are like my hero!"

"What? You've heard of us?"

"Yeah! Almost everyone here has. You guys rock! I've heard you guys are going across the whole country, fighting for mutant rights. Is it true?"

"Well we try to fight for it when we can, and we are going across the country, but not to fight specifically."

"Wow. Are you going to be able to get out of this? Like how you got out of everything else?"

"I don't know right now. I'm Lindsey by the way."

"Katie." She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back ever so slightly.

It seemed like it was hours before they brought Kaleb back. They brought him down covered in bruises and cuts. They hastily removed his cuffs and threw him into the cage. I moved closer to where he was and looked down at him. The tears started coming again.

"Oh god. Kaleb? Kaleb can you hear me? Please…" He carefully sat up and looked at me, laying down along the bottom of my cage.

"I'm fine, it's ok."

"No, it is not ok. What did they do to you?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm still here."

"Oh jeez Kaleb… did you tell him?"

"I hate to admit it. I can't believe how weak I was…"

"No, I was the weak one. You're covered in bruises and cuts, I only have one cut and a sore head and wings."

"They touched your wings?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Next time I swear to god… _I _won't even touch your wings."

"Kaleb you don't touch my wings for a whole different reason." He looked up at me with curiosity. "I know you're scared of me. Don't even try to hide it." I had been holding that in since Idaho. I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Linds, why on Earth would you think that?"

"The way you stare. Silently judging me. You're scared."

"Lindsey, I'm not afraid of you. Yes, I do stare a little, but for an entirely different reason. I of all people know how it feels to be judged."

"Why do you stare then?"

"Curiosity. The impossibility of it all. You know what that does to me."

I nodded. "Then why are you so open to me?"

"I don't know. Because I trust you I guess. Something about you just makes me feel… safe."

I took a deep breath. "Are you really ok? Looks like you really fought."

"I'm fine. Are you ok?"

"Shaken up, but ok. Mr. Lomnek, he's freaky."

Kaleb nodded. "I concur." I slipped my arm through the bars on the floor so my hand dangled ever so slightly into Kaleb's cage. He stood and reached his hand up, taking mine in his. He was so tall, it was effortless. It felt really amazing, having the warmth of him so close, even if it just meant holding his hand. I actually fell asleep like that. When I woke up Kaleb was no longer holding my hand, but he was asleep on the concrete floor of his cage. I realized it was the first time I actually woke up before him. I didn't want to wake him, so I thought maybe I could talk to Katie.

"Hey Katie-" I stopped cold when I turned around. _She wasn't there_. "Oh no." If she wasn't there, it meant she was with Mr. Lomnek. That poor sweet girl. It was in the midst of my silent panic attack that the steel doors opened and a handcuffed Katie being escorted by the big dudes came through. I let out a sigh of relief. And then I sucked it right back in when she got close enough for me to see the details of her face. Burns, the poor thing was covered in them. The guys climbed the ladder, un-cuffed her, and tossed her in.

"Katie? Sweetheart, are you ok?" I had only ever called Taylor sweetheart, never anyone else.

"Oh I'm fine, pretty basic test of my abilities."

"Oh jeez, does this happen often?" I asked, incredibly concerned.

"Well, it's a little random, who he chooses and when. He's got a lot of mutants here, as you can see."

"Only kids, huh."

"Yep. The very youngest is four. The oldest is seventeen. I'm seven. How old are you two?"

"We're both fourteen. How long have you been here?"

"Seven months." My jaw dropped.

"Seven whole months? That is really crazy."

"Not really. Some of the older ones have been here for years."

"Oh my god. Do you know the longest anyone has been here?"

She thought about it for a second. "The longest anyone has been is two years, nine months and still counting."

"Still counting? Has anyone gotten out of here?"

"A few have gotten really close, but no. Those people were severely punished though." She looked sort of sad when she said that. Her face quickly lit up and looked at me. "But I know the Dark Partnership is going to be the first. You guys are going to make it out."

"We'll certainly try." Kaleb was up and standing, looking up at Katie and making empty promises.

"Well good morning sleeping beauty." I said to him. "Kaleb, this is Katie. Katie, this is Kaleb, the other half of the Dark Partnership."

"It's really awesome to meet you Kaleb! You guys are my heroes."

"She knows about the Partnership?" Kaleb asked me.

"Turns out a lot of the kids here know. We're famous!"

"Around here. I think few others know about you guys." Katie said. I gave Kaleb a slight smile. He gave me a look that was his equivalent of a smile.

A week or two passed this way. Kids were taken from their cages, some screaming and kicking, others just allowing themselves to be taken. A small amount of food was given to us every day. Kaleb started this weird thing where when he was awake he would just do random exercises in his cage. Push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups on the top bars, jumping-jacks, you name it. One of the days I asked why he was doing that.

"Well as long as I've got some time on my hands. I always thought I was sort of scrawny, so why the hell not." He said it all while doing sit-ups. I just shrugged then thought, hey not a bad idea. I started doing sit-ups in my cage too.

While we were exercising the now familiar sound of the door opening rang out through the hall. A boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, came out full on sobbing. The big guys threw him in his cage and then started walking back towards the door. They passed the door and then went down our aisle. No ladder, so Katie and I were safe. They got closer and closer until they stopped. Directly in front of Kaleb.

"Oh god." I said simply.


	7. Hearts on our Sleeves

**Author's Note:** _Woah! Another new chapter! I'm on fire this week. Anyway, get ready for your feels to be messed with because this one is going to be crazy! Enjoy..._

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"Lindsey I need you to do me a favor." Kaleb said, not looking up, but backing away from the door.

"Yeah?" I asked, ready to burst into tears.

"I need you not to scream. Don't cry. Please, don't worry about me, I'll be fine." I put my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming or crying. He needed to stop it, the not wanting me to worry. I was beginning to wonder who the one getting tortured was.

"Do what they say. Please?" I asked of him softly.

"Ok." He let the guy take him, didn't fight. I held back any noises welling up in my throat. He gave me one last look and mouthed _its ok._

"I have never seen two people with such strong feelings for each other. Not even my parents." I looked over to my young, yet strangely knowledgeable friend.

"You meet a lot of people?" I asked.

"Well if you play your cards right you can learn a lot in seven years." There was something about her. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

The last time they had taken him it seemed like time slowed down until they brought him back, this time the muscle guys were back very quickly. Only one small problem, _no Kaleb._

"Oh my god." They had the ladder and were walking in our direction. They stopped in front of me, hooked the ladder on, and sent key guy up for me. I didn't see the point in fighting them, so I just let them take me. I was lead the same way I was before, but farther down the dark hallway beyond the reinforced doors. This time I was brought into a room on the right, very similar to the last one except the fact that it was much larger, a curtain sat to one side and Mr. Lomnek now stood in front of that curtain. They attached me to the ground cuffs and stood back.

"Welcome my dear." He said, that same freaky tone.

"Where's Kaleb?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Now now, just a moment darling. I just want you to discuss something with me." He started pacing the length of the curtain. "I know that you have one more piece in your mutation. You can tell me, or I can force it out of you."

"You can't hurt me, you said so yourself."

"Yes, that is true. You obviously aren't going to tell me, so I will force my hand." He pulled a rope next to the curtain and it dropped. Behind it was Kaleb, strapped to a steel table, wrists, ankles and neck bound. A large machine with all sorts of knobs and buttons was hooked up to said table.

"KALEB!" I yelled. He had figured me out, he knew how to get to me. _Why do I care so much? Why does seeing him in pain hurt me? _I asked myself. _The only other person I care about this much is Taylor, but she's my sister and I lo-_ it hit me right then. Why I cared so much.

"Listen darling, I'm very much in control here. Just one turn of a knob and a push of a button could kill your precious Kaleb." I pulled on the chains, trying to break them, trying to get to him. "Will you tell me now?"

"Lindsey, don't do it! Please." Kaleb shouted at me.

"All right." He turned a knob, not very high, but not super low either. He pushed a button and electrical current was delivered right to Kaleb. His body convulsed and he cried out from pain.

"KALEB! Stop! STOP!" I screamed at Lomnek, trying to pull myself free to save him. He turned the machine off and looked back at me.

"How about now my dear? Your partner will stop suffering and all you have to do is tell me." Lomnek spoke in that tone that was beginning to make me want to claw my ears off. As he spoke his hands felt over the different buttons on his torture device.

"Lindsey, don't! Please, just trust me." Kaleb yelled weakly. I couldn't believe him, me telling him my mutation was the only way that it could all stop and he was obviously in a lot of pain, and he didn't want me to. I didn't even know why it was so important that I didn't tell him.

"No." I said, soft but firm. He sighed, turned up the dial and pressed the button. Kaleb convulsed on the table over and over again, crying out and grunting.

"You have one last chance." Lomnek said.

"NO! Kaleb! STOP! You're going to kill him, please!" Tears streamed down my face as I screamed over and over for him to stop. I couldn't take it anymore. "WHEN I SING I CAN MAKE ANYONE FEEL WHATEVER I WANT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The machine suddenly turned off and Kaleb stopped moving, just motionless. No sounds from where he lie.

"Well I'd love to see it." Lomnek said, an eerie smile on his lips.

"I can make your men break down crying, right now." I twisted my head around and started singing a sad song, a song someone wrote about they're dad. I knew how that person felt, I was living the song. By the time I was halfway through the second chorus they were sobbing, tears streaming down their faces. I stopped and turned back around, Mr. Lomnek taking his finger out of his ears.

"Fantastic. Just brilliant. An advanced echolocation system." He turned to the young guy in the lab coat with a clipboard who brought us here and whispered something to him. He nodded and motion to the muscle guys. The cuff guy did the undo-redo of the cuffs and started walking me back. Kaleb was incapable of walking, so one of the dudes had to carry him. Mad scientist whispered something to the both of them and they nodded back. As we were led back I realized that none had brought the ladder. They opened Kaleb's cage and tossed him, slightly more gently than normal, into it followed by me. Mad scientists went up to the door and closed it and then looked me straight in the eyes.

"We aren't entirely evil as you may think. You are allowed a few minutes together until we come to put you in your proper place." They all walked off and I rushed to Kaleb's side. I was ready, ready to tell him what I had figured out while we were in there. But, I was nervous as to how he would react. I wondered if he shared the feeling.

"Kaleb?" I said softly, smoothing the hair away from his face. He lay there on the cold floor and I kneeled next to him, his head in my hand.

"It's ok, I'm ok." He said weakly.

"Stop telling me that it's ok. You're the one getting hurt over and over again. I'm so sorry, I should have just told him right away, saved you the suffering."

"No. Don't be sorry. I really wish you hadn't told him."

"Kaleb, he was going to kill you. If you were to… I couldn't even…"

"Linds, he wouldn't have killed me. He wants us alive, can't you see?"

"Kaleb, do you even know how much it hurts me to see you in pain like that?"

"Why? Why does it hurt you so much?"

I took a deep breath. I was about to say something that could entirely mess up everything we had, but I was doing it anyway. "Because I love you." I said simply.

"You shouldn't." He said, looking away from me.

"What? Why not?"

"I don't deserve it, damn it!" He was getting frustrated, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. Just like when we first met on that rainy night in the small town of Cove, Oregon.

"Kaleb, why on Earth would you not deserve to be loved?"

He just exploded all right there. "Because I murdered someone, ok?!" I couldn't speak, and a confused look crossed my face. "I never told you why I left. I was at school, and some idiot was trying to get at me. I made a bear out of shadows to scare him off, but I couldn't control it. I killed him. I chopped a tree down on top of him to cover it up and just ran. I left because I couldn't take anymore and… I _killed _a person with my god damned mutation and you know what? I wish I didn't even have it! I wish I could just be, normal."

"I don't care. It was an accident. You still deserve to be loved, everyone does. And you are a mutant. You can't change that. It's who you were meant to be, like I said by the lake. You were born to do the impossible, Kaleb. And that's why I love you."

"Thank you… I guess I needed to hear that. Also, would it be totally out of the blue if I told you that I think I love you too?" He gave me a hopeful look.

"No. Not at all." I pulled him into a hug and we just sat, hugging one another. It was amazing, perfect. I let go and looked him in the eyes. I pushed his hair up and kissed his forehead. He looked at my arms, I had my t-shirt on and even with the dirt he could see my scars.

"What are these from?" He asked. I sighed. I guess since he revealed his darkest secret I had better reveal mine.

"Remember that dagger I had?" He nodded. "Well you see it was my dad's. He hates mutants. He was also sort of an alcoholic and is one of those people that get's violent when he's drunk. He um…" I paused, a tear streaming down my face at the painful memories. He smoothed down my hair in the back and hugged me again.

"It's ok." He said.

"I've got some on my back and legs too…" I said.

"It's all right." He continued, rubbing my back.

"And the hair in front of my eye, that isn't a fashion choice." He pushed the hair back gently. I expected him to gasp or pull back, but he didn't. I happen to know it's horribly disgusting. The eye itself has a red line through it and you can see the veins around it. A pale scar runs slightly above and below my eye, showing the line where the tip of the blade hit. "It's hideous, I know."

"Well, we all have battle scars; some more physical than others." He said, tucking the piece of hair behind my ear. I took it out and put it back in front of the eye.

I heard the doors of the cage open and suddenly I was being dragged back up to my cage. I lay down on the floor, slipping my arm through the bars. Kaleb reached up and took my hand, the gesture having a whole new meaning.

I wish I could tell you that we didn't get tortured anymore than what we had been through, but then I would be lying and I generally only like to lie when necessary for the greater good. I really just can't tell you what happened in those rooms. What I can tell you is that every time I was taken down that corridor I memorized it. My awesome cool bat-vision allowed me to see beyond what they thought I could. I had the cage room and the torture rooms and hallway mapped out. Before long, Kaleb and I had an escape plan. Of course, this took us several weeks to figure out. During that time we exercised, talked, talked to Katie and stuff like that. At one point we had a little discussion regarding my mutation.

"Hey Linds, you ever notice how like, uncanny you are when it comes to direction?"

"I don't know, I guess. Why?" I looked down at him, curious.

"Ever think it's like, a part of your mutation? Like, a part of your 'advanced echolocation'." Kaleb looked up from where he was doing jumping-jacks.

"Never thought of it that way… I guess I do have an epic sense of direction." I closed my eyes and concentrated. "We are in Pennsylvania still, I know that for sure. Actually really close to New York."

"That's amazing."

"Huh. I guess it is." I slipped my hand through the bars again and Kaleb took it in his. It sort of became a thing for us, the only way for us to have physical contact with one another.

* * *

It was the day. The day we finally got out. A month and a half we spent in there, gathering information, being tortured and tested. I was done. I'm sure Kaleb was done. The clock showed 12:27 a.m. Most of the kids were sleeping as deeply as they could in a place like this, including Katie. We had discussed trying to save the other kids, but it was just too risky.

"Ready?" I whispered down. He gave a slight nod and began pulling at the shadows. He shaped them perfectly into the shape of the key. He slipped it into the lock and in that moment there was so much tension. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding when the key turned and the door swung open. Kaleb climbed up without a sound to my cage and slipped the key into my lock. Perfect fit. The door swung open and I fluttered out, quietly and swiftly. We had already picked our exit, at the end of the corridor was a large door that I was almost one hundred percent sure was an exit.

We ran down the hall without a sound. When we reached the door Kaleb made a thin sheet from the shadows and placed it under the door. It took all his effort to keep it there as I pushed it open and crept silently through. As soon as the door closed we shot down the hallway, all the way until we reached the big doors at the end. We pushed the handles to find the door swung open easily. I almost leaped for joy until I realized something _we weren't outside._

We were in a large, round room, and single walkway leading to a circular platform at the end. On it stood none other than Lomnek. Next to him was the figure of a small girl. The girl said something, but it was too quiet to hear. Mr. Lomnek's booming voice was just the opposite.

"Well, what did I tell you? They were going to leave you behind my dear; too consumed in their personal romance to carry dead weight like you along." They both turned around to face us. To my complete and utter surprise, the little girl was Katie. "Katie dear, why don't you explain our deal, starting from your _mutation._" God I hated the way he said that word.

"Well, I'm a telepath." Katie said sort of quietly. "I read minds. Every one of your thoughts I heard, I've seen what you dream about. Naturally, I knew you guys were planning an escape." Kaleb and I looked at each other then back to Katie. "Mr. Lomnek always treated me differently. He didn't hurt me as much as he hurt you and in return I tell him what everyone in this building is thinking. I told him what you were planning and I begged him to just let you guys go. He said if you guys decided to take me with you, he would let you escape…"

"You lied to us?" I asked, furious.

"Katie, Lomnek is an evil man with many ulterior motives. He's using you and I highly doubt he is actually keeping up his end of the deal." Kaleb said, trying to reason with her.

"No, nothing I said was al lie. You guys _are_ my heroes. But heroes are supposed to save people, you didn't save me." She looked down at her feet. "Lindsey, I remind you of your little sister. The only person besides Kaleb you actually love. You still left me behind!"

"Katie, I'm sorry. I-" I began.

"No. No more rambling my dear. You've said enough." Lomnek pushed a button on the strange machine behind him and the four muscle guys ran in. I pulled my wings out in full and grabbed Kaleb around his torso.

"Hold on!" I said, attempting a take-off. We both jumped up and I was in the air. We flew over the guys, kicking them in the head. We hit the ground and took off running back down the hallway. We made it all the way to the end, but I stopped abruptly in front of the first door I went in. Lomnek's office was in there. It was probably where he was keeping my bag and, more importantly, my dagger. Split second decisions made me decide to go in and get it. I opened the door and ran in.

"Lindsey!" Kaleb ran in after me. "What are you doing?!"

"I need my bag. Or at least my dagger." I ran over to the table and picked it up. The sheath had a little loop, so I attached it to the belt loop on my jeans. I ran into his office and looked around. Filing cabinets lined every wall. On one end was a desk, my backpack still on it, still filled. I grabbed it quickly and almost headed out the door. I turned around quickly and opened up a drawer on one of the cabinets. Inside were extensive files of each mutant. They seemed to be organized by row. I did the math in my head quickly and opened up the one for my row. I checked and grabbed the ones for me, Kaleb and Katie. I shoved them in the bag and ran out, tossing the bag to Kaleb.

"Come on, let's go!" I shouted, running out. He rolled his eyes and followed me out and into the cage room. The sound of the door opening awoke most of the kids. We started running towards the other end, all eyes on us.

"The Dark Partnership is going to make it!" One shouted. That started an uproar, all the kids started cheering. Shouting "The Dark Partnership!" and "You guys can do it!" to us, pumping their fists and showing off any mutation they had. I opened my wings wide for them all to see and Kaleb took some nearby shadows and spiked upward like a lightning bolt. They all cheered and whistled and clapped at that. We reached the other end of the building, out of places to go.

"Hey!" We looked over to the kid behind us, a young boy maybe 9 or 10. "If you pushed the wall with absolutely no rust on it, it pushes out." Kaleb pushed the wall and sure enough it moved back and slid into the wall next to it.

"Thank you!" I shouted back.

"The Dark Partnership for the win!"He yelled. We ran out to find we were in the middle of a forest. We looked back and the wall pushed back in. The entire building was camouflage colored and huge.

"We have to hurry." Kaleb said. I nodded and we ran from the building, as far away as we could get. We were in the middle of nowhere and at that point, we didn't really care. I could find my way anywhere anytime, but right then we just had to run. Once we decided we were far enough away we stopped, panting.

"Lindsey?" Kaleb said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah?"

"We made it. We made it out." He said with a smile on his face, the first I'd seen I a while.

"Oh my god! We actually did it!" We both yelped for joy and gave one another a hug. We just stood there, hugging, almost unable to breath from not only lack of breath, but sheer excitement and joy.

"Are you going to be able to tell anyone what actually happened in there?" he asked, all the exercise he did really paid off, his now muscular arms were still wrapped around me.

"I don't know. Probably not all of it." He nodded.

"Me neither."

"I told you a lot of things back there… Showed you things I have never shown to anyone who hadn't been there when they happened." I told him, my voice shaking.

"Your secrets are safe with me." He reassured me, still holding me.

"As are yours with me. And about the other things you said… Were those just out of desperation? Or were they true?" He kept his arms around me but he released enough to let me see his face, every beautiful feature. Even the scratches and burns looked amazing with everything else.

"Lindsey, I do love you. That was one hundred percent true."

"I love you too Kaleb. Like, a whole lot." I looked deep into his brown eyes. They're the kind of eyes you could get lost forever in, and I was about to. He pushed back the hair in front of my eye for a second time, revealing the disgusting scar that I hated.

"It's not disgusting." He said, as if he was reading my mind. "It's beautiful, and you're beautiful." He leaned in, closing his eyes. His soft lips landed on mine and my eyes widened for a second, and then closed. I took in every sensation like it was cool water after a hot day. His toughened hand caressed my face perfectly and went barely into my hair. It wasn't a hungry kiss, it was slow and soft and easy and amazing. I didn't want it to stop, ever. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck and he kept his other arm around my middle, protecting us. We did eventually stop though; we knew they would be after us.

"Kaleb-" I began, resting my head on his shoulder.

"You don't have to say anything." He said, placing his hand protectively over my head.

"I know. I don't want to. We just need to keep moving. They'll definitely be coming for us." We let go and just held one another's elbows, keeping our arms some-what linked.

"You're right. Do you have the strength to fly us to the nearest highway?"

I closed my eyes and concentrated. "We're on the edge of Pennsylvania. Really close to Westchester actually. A few hours flight, if I had the strength to actually lift you." He sighed when I said I didn't have the strength. "But if we run northwest we can reach a small road which may or may not lead us to a town where we can hot wire a car or steal some bikes."

"May or may not?" Kaleb asked as I opened my eyes.

"It's a little fuzzy… Too far out of my range to see it all." He pondered what I had just said for a second.

"I say it's worth a shot."

"Well you know I can trust you anywhere." He smiled at me and we released one another, running in the direction I was one hundred percent sure was northwest. I really wanted to feel his touch again, but we needed to put a whole lot of distance between us and the mad scientists. We were so incredibly close, I could feel it.


	8. The Home Stretch

Thanks to my awesome advanced echolocation stuff, we were able find the town in no time. It was still dark when we got there, so we crashed in an alley for the night. I woke soon after the sun rose, Kaleb was up before me, sitting and staring at me, as per the usual.

"Well good morning." I said as he handed me a bag of chips. I ate quickly and stood up. He stood too and we began walking through the town. "Ok, course of action. I'd like to get out of here and to the school as soon as we can."

"Well our best mode of transportation is flying." Kaleb suggested.

"As much as I'd like to, I can't. You built up some muscle in there and I could barely lift you over the big guys."

"Hm… We could hot wire a car?"

"That was for revenge. Unless we see someone else being an ass hole to someone because they're a mutant…"

"You're making this hard for me… We could always just walk. Wait, didn't you say we could steal a car or some bikes in that forest?" He stopped and looked at me.

"I was tired and… overwhelmed. All this new stuff I'm confessing to myself and you… I can't keep my mind straight." I said, turning around.

He walked up and stood next to me. He kissed the top of my head and looked me in the eyes. "It's ok, neither can I." I smiled and we kept walking. We talked and pigged out for about ten minutes before we were rammed into and thrown into another alley. While Kaleb and I sat on the concrete trying to figure out what had just happened a boy maybe a year or two younger than us jumped up.

"You may have got me this time, but next time! Just you wait!" He shouted to someone out in the street. We stood up and brushed ourselves off as he whirled around to face us. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Oh, what happened to you guys?"

"Well traveling across the freaking country takes a lot out of a person!" Kaleb shouted at him.

"Oh. Sorry. Wait a young guy with a dark appearance and a young girl with blonde hair and stunning blue eyes travelling together… The Dark Partnership! Oh my gosh, I don't know if you guys remember but my uncle was the boat man you talked to in Boonville!"

"Oh wow. Small world huh." I said. "Are you a mutant?"

"No… my best friend is though! As soon as I told him about you guys he said he was a full supporter. You know, if you guys aren't busy spreading the message he would love to meet you."

Kaleb and I looked at each other and then back to the kid. "Sure." I said.

"Sweet! I'm Josh by the way." He said, leading us out of the alley.

"I'm Lindsey and this is Kaleb." I said.

"Well lucky for you guys I was just about to meet Nate at the park." I just went ahead and assumed Nate was Josh's best friend he had mentioned. The park was actually a little ways in the opposite direction I wanted us to be heading and it was killing me and my sense of direction. It wasn't more of a park than it was an empty lot, but a kid probably Josh's age wearing a plain purple baseball hat stood in the center. Josh called for him and he looked up. We walked closer and he did not look very happy to see us.

"Sup Nate!" Josh said.

"Who are these kids?" He asked in the most "I'm not happy with this at _all" _voice I'd ever heard.

"Nate, may I introduce you to Lindsey and Kaleb. Otherwise known as _the _Dark Partnership." Nate's jaw dropped and he looked at us with awe.

"Oh my god. I can't believe… I mean you guys…" He stumbled over his words.

"It's ok, we've heard it all. Your friend told us about you, and we're glad to have any supporters at all." I told him. "We'd love to see your mutation though, if that's all right."

"Sure." He said, after gathering himself. He looked around at all the dead grass and raised both his hands. In a split second the lot was covered in fresh, green grass. He made another hand motion and little flowers bloomed up all over, going from sprouts, to buds, to flowers.

"That's amazing." Kaleb said.

"I guess. Plants obey my every command, if only I could show my parents. They might actually be able to grow a real garden."

"Wait, does anyone know about this?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Just you guys and Josh."

"I guess that's how I would have done it had mine not showed up in front of the entire second grade." I said.

"If you're tired of hiding, you can come with us." Kaleb said. "We're going to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a place just for mutants."

"No, but thank you for the offer. I'm fine right here hiding. If I ever do reveal myself and it goes over badly, I'll go and ask for you guys."

"We understand. Before we go, do you guys have some mode of transportation we could use?" I asked. Kaleb gave me a look and I shrugged. If we have a supporter we may as well ask for help, right?

Josh spoke up. "We could take those kids bikes! The ones who shoved me into you guys."

"You can use our old bikes." Nate said, shooting Josh a death glare.

"You guys would really do that?" I asked.

"Of course! Follow me. We're next door neighbors so we can just get them both." We started walking in the direction we came from and were at their houses in a few minutes. They gave us some old worn-out bikes. They didn't fall apart when we sat on them and the wheels actually turned, so they would work.

"Thanks a bunch guys." I said.

"Wait! Before you guys go." Nate took of his hat and handed it to Kaleb.

"Why are you giving me this?" He asked.

"Look on the inside." Kaleb look at the tag and I peered over. Written on it in sharpie was "The Dark Partnership."

"Thank you." He said. He put it on and turned it around so the brim faced the wrong way. We peddled down the road and in the bike lane on the road towards Xavier's school.

As we peddled I couldn't help but smile. I really couldn't help but share my happiness with the world and start singing, again. I heard Kaleb laugh behind me at my weird need to sing. I knew for a fact that he was really happy, whether I was making him feel that way or not. It was all smooth sailing from there, I was just constantly at alert, afraid something was going to happen and we weren't going to get there.

"Hey Kaleb?" I said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you only liked to wear black."

"I do. I guess one little bit of color is fine for me. And it's a dark color." I giggled a bit and we continued. We rode well into the night and by around 2 in the morning we arrived. When we rode up and tossed the bikes aside we weren't entirely sure we were in the right place. The place looked like a freaking castle rather than a school.

"Kaleb, are you sure we're in the right place?" I asked. He pulled out the paper from the website and handed it to me.

"This is definitely it." He said. He walked up to a small brick wall. On it was a plaque stating that this indeed was Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. We walked up to the big double doors that really added to the castle effect the place had.

"Are you sure we should just walk in? I mean it's two in the morning. I don't know about you, but I'd be sleeping." I asked.

"We've waited months for this Linds. I'm ready." I nodded and ran up to walk in with him. We pushed open one door (it was big enough for the both of us to fit through comfortably) and stepped through. Of course, only for us to be knocked aside by a force incredible enough for me to slide all the way over to one wall, knocking over what appeared to be a priceless vase and send a shockwave of sorts up to the ceiling and have a chandelier fall to the floor and break into thousands of pieces.

"Come on now!" I shouted from where I lay. I stood up and looked over to find a middle aged guy in nothing but pajama bottoms and probably the strangest haircut I've ever seen standing in a battle-stance of sorts.

"What the hell man?!" Kaleb said to him.

"What are you kids doing here?" He asked in a scruffy voice.

"We heard this was a safe place for mutants…" I said. He gave me a weird look and I extended my wings. He relaxed and spoke again.

"Maybe next time you don't just walk in at two in the morning. You scared all of us." We just stood confused until he pushed the door back to reveal a bunch of children of varying ages.

We found out strange hair guy was Logan or "Wolverine." Turns out a lot of the mutants there had these weird code names. We met this really nice woman with white hair named "Storm" who welcomed us and showed us where we could sleep for what was left of the night and that we could meet Professor X in the morning. He was the Xavier who owned the mansion. I still refused to call it anything but a castle though. In my room I met Bailey whom I would share it with. She had fluffy light brown hair and blue eyes. She told me her code name was Riptide and I had yet to figure out why because she fell right asleep after that. I tried to fall asleep on the bottom bunk, which was the most comfortable thing in the whole world at that point, but just couldn't. Without Kaleb nearby it was hard, I had gotten so used to it. And no sound of a crackling fire to lull me to sleep. I decided a few hours later he wasn't coming and that I needed to just get some sleep.

The next morning I was finally able to shower and a new set of clothes was waiting for me on my bed. Just denim shorts and a black v-neck with a red X in a circle on the corner. They felt nice though. You know, after I slit some holes in the back. Kaleb had refused the new clothes though, putting on his old black clothes and the hat.

"Kaleb, they have rips in them. And blood." I told him while we walked to Professor X's office.

"I don't care. If they want to offer me black jeans and a plain black shirt, I'll take it." I rolled my eyes and he took my hand in his.

Professor X was an older man in a wheelchair. While in there we learned he founded the school to help any mutant who needs it because he himself was a mutant. He could read minds. This of course led me into internal panic over how much he already knew. He gave us each a class schedule and asked for a way to contact our parents. To let them know we were safe and such. He also said before we went anywhere we had to go see Doctor Jean Grey so she could do something about our various injuries. My mind immediately said "oh, well shit." And of course he went ahead and told me that I should never say that out loud because they don't tolerate that kind of language. Kaleb gave me a weird look and then the professor one. I then proceeded to hurry us both out because this guy was beginning to creep me out.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"I don't really want to have to explain my scars to someone I just met. And I don't like people in my head either."

"I understand. It's really cool, how he's helping all these mutants though."

"Yeah. I guess I'll try to just accept none of my thoughts are private anymore." He placed his arm over my shoulder.

"It's alright. I don't think he'll take advantage of us though, or anyone here. But hey, look at all these classes we have together!" It was true, of the nine periods during the day only three of them we didn't share. We stepped on the elevator to the underground portion of the castle. It was like a whole different world down there. In the main part it was all old-timey and fancy, but down there in was a long hallway made of shiny steel. They were actually capable of lighting an area and it wasn't creepy like the facility. I was asked in the room first and inside it was just slightly darker. A woman with reddish-brown hair in a lab coat stood by an examination table.

"Hi, I'm Jean Grey, but you can call me Dr. Grey." She said. "You can come lay down here and we'll have a look at those injuries." I did as she said.

"Are you a mutant as well, Dr. Grey?" I asked.

"Yes. Everyone at the X mansion is a mutant. You certainly have a lot of scars. Very old ones. What are they from?"

"My dad." I said simply. She nodded and continued, cleaning all the cuts and other injuries from the facility.

"So what is your story? What brought you here?"

"My feet. A car. A bike. Also my wings… I sort of got tired of my dad and so I left. I met Kaleb and we stuck together. He told me how he had been researching that this was actually a school for mutants and we decided to cross the country." I told her.

"You guys must have been through a lot huh?"

"That would be an understatement."

"I'd love to hear your story." I sat up and began from the party where I discovered the second part of my mutation. I told her about everything that happened to us. She would occasionally nod or ask a question. I did leave a few things out though, some of the torture and the times I poured my heart out and when Kaleb and I kissed.

"Thank you." I said when she told me I could go.

"No, thank you. Can you send Kaleb in for me?" I nodded and left. I told Kaleb he could go in and he gave me a quick hug before going. I went up the elevator and was about to go back to my room (it was the weekend and I didn't have any classes yet) when my head was freaking invaded by whom I could only assume was Professor X.

"_Come into my office please."_I heard. I stopped in my tracks and looked around. I looked over to the door that led to the professor's office. I walked over and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in!" I heard from inside. I opened it slowly and stood in the doorway, attempting to make myself as small as possible. "All the way in." He said warmly. I stepped in and closed the door behind me.

"You called for me?" I said tentatively. This reminded me too much of my old life.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said.

"You're in my head. I don't like it." He chuckled slightly at that.

"Well I just wanted to ask you about your past. What brought you here?" Memories flashed by at that.

"Why do I get the feeling you could reach into my memories?"

"Well you just said you don't like me in your head." I sighed.

"It's a bit of a long story that I've already told once today."

"I can just reach in and see it for myself, if that's alright with you." I nodded and stepped closer. He closed his eyes and various memories from the journey flashed by and stuff from the past. My nightmare, my dad… Kaleb. He showed up several times more than everything else. Our kiss… I felt the blood rush to my cheeks at that.

"Well you've seen some horrible things, haven't you?" I nodded as a tear streamed down my cheek. It was hard, all these memories I had been trying so hard to bury resurfacing.

"And here I thought I would be the only person to ever really know what it felt like to be there and live through my dad." The professor smiled slightly.

"Also, before you go, you caused some serious damage when you arrived." I giggled nervously. "To help pay for the damage I'd like you to do some chores around the mansion."

"To be fair, that was mostly Logan." I said in my defense. He smiled, but gave me a look that said "well you're going to do it anyway." "Ok, I'll see you later professor." I headed out and back to my room. Bailey sat on the top bunk making weird hand movements. I looked over to find water circling around the room, suspended in the air.

"I guess that's why they call you Riptide, huh?" She gasped and led the water neatly into a cup on the table in the middle of the room. "Oh I'm sorry. Should've knocked."

"No, it's fine. I guess I really should get used to having a roommate." She climbed down the ladder and sat down on one of the chairs. "The least you could do is share your mutation with me." I laughed and she did too.

"Ok, here you go." I opened up my wings and concentrated hard. It took me a few seconds, but my face elongated. The bat ears, you know the drill. I allowed her to marvel at it for a moment before they started disappearing by themselves. "I can also sing and make anyone feel anything. And find my way anywhere."

"Wow. Hmm… I know! We can call you Echo!" I thought about it for a moment. It made a lot of sense really.

"Hm. I guess it does suit me. Thanks Bailey." She smiled sweetly. "I get the feeling this is the start of an awesome friendship. Do you think you could come up with one for my partner? He controls shadows." She paced the room a few times.

"How about Eclipse?" she said after a few minutes. I nodded.

"That's perfect. You're really good at this!" I told her.

"Thanks. Came up with your partner's roommate's too."

"Ooh tell me!" I said, sitting down in the chair next to hers. She sat too and almost spoke when Kaleb burst in the room with a guy our age with auburn hair and green eyes.

"Lindsey, this is Shay. He's my roommate. You've got to check this out!" This Shay character put his hands out and spread his fingers. From his wrists two long strings started coming out. As they became longer he grabbed the ends and whipped them against the floor a few times He opened his palms again and they disappeared into his wrists again.

"Also known as Whiplash." Bailey said. I giggled a bit and put out a hand towards Shay.

"Lindsey." I said, shaking his hand. "I guess now known as Echo." I turned to Kaleb. "Kaleb this is Bailey, also known as Riptide."

"Do I get a cool nick name?" He asked.

"Yep. You're Eclipse." Bailey told him.

"Sweet." He said. We all left to go to dinner, laughing and talking. It made me really happy. I was finally with my people.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_So yeah! THEY MADE IT! And they have their mutant names. So i will be updating as soon as i can, but you know I've been pretty good with updating recently. Feel free to review!_


	9. Home Sweet Home, Finally

I lay down on the lower bunk, my bunk, in the small room I shared with Bailey. She wasn't there; it was just me feeling bored and thinking about how lucky I was to finally be safe. Kaleb was off with Shay, just enjoying the guy time he never really had. A knock on the door broke through the silence. I sat up and looked at the door.

"Come in!" I called. Storm walked in holding a wireless landline phone.

"Hi Lindsey, your family called, they'd like to speak with you." I reached out and she handed me the phone. "You know where to find me when you're finished right?" I nodded and she left.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Lindsey!" Taylors sweet voice came through.

"Oh, hi sweet girl! Oh it's really been too long."

"Mm-hm. I miss you. I'm really happy you're safe."

"Oh I miss you too. You're staying safe too right?" I asked teasingly.

"Uh-huh! Oh, mommy wants to talk to you."

"Oh ok, love you!"

"Love you too! Oh here." I heard the sound of the phone being passed over.

"Mom?" I asked tentatively.

"Hello Lindsey." There was a short pause. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She said suddenly.

"Mom, don't be sorry! You never did anything!"

"That's just it; I didn't do anything for you. I should have stopped your dad and I never did. I always thought it didn't really matter if you were different, I only agreed to that original move because I knew everyone else would just bully you. If I had known what your dad was going to do and what kind of power I was giving him…" I could hear her start crying on the other end.

"Mom, listen. Don't blame any of this on yourself! If there is anyone you should blame its dad."

"Trust me; I blame a lot of this on your father. He's going to rehab to get over the drinking and stuff. And I'm filling for divorce as we speak. "

"That's good, that's really good. I'm just happy you guys are going to be safe."

"I understand if you don't want to, but your father wants to speak with you." I stopped cold. My dad wanted to legitimately talk to me.

"That's fine, I guess."

"Thank you. I love you my sweet girl."

"Love you too mom." The phone was passed once again.

"Hello?" I heard. My dad. His voice shook ever so slightly.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice cold.

"I wanted to um… I wanted to apologize." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Apologize? Apologize?! You can't just say you're sorry and have everything be ok! You traumatized and abused me, for seven years! Seven years and so many scars." I had changed a lot since I left. I had seen and learned so much. I had grown up, and if I was still that same person, I couldn't have been able to say that.

"I'm so sorry Lindsey. I was so wrong about you. You aren't a freak, I feel so horrible for saying that." He was so nervous. Tired, worn down. Something had changed in him.

"Well I was able to figure that out for myself. I don't need to hear it from you or anyone else for that matter."

"Lindsey, once I'm back I really want to try again. I want to be a better father for you."

"I don't care what you say. I'll never consider you a father. I think it's best I don't see you again, I just can't trust you."

"Ok, I understand." He sighed. "Well, we're sending you your laptop and clothes. Your mother sewed them and washed them all. Bought new things to replace the ones that couldn't be fixed."

I nodded and then remembered I was having a phone conversation. (Only ever used a phone once, ok?) "Ok. Thanks, I guess."

"Well bye and stuff." He sighed again.

"Yeah. And stuff." I hung up and sighed. The door opened a crack and I looked up. Kaleb's face peered through; he had one of those unreadable expressions.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"Yeah of course." He came all the way through and sat down next to me on the bed. Kaleb looked amazingly healthy and handsome after his cuts and bruises and burns had been cleared up by Dr. Grey. It was so great to see him looking like himself.

"Family called?" I nodded. "My mom called, but only to tell them they could keep me."

"That's disappointing." I said.

"Not really. I didn't really want to have anything to do with her either." Him being so much taller than me, he was able to look down on me. I looked deep into his eyes and he looked into mine. "You've really grown. You're so much stronger now. It takes some real courage to talk like that to someone who has done things like he did." I rested my head on his shoulder and buried my face in his shirt and began crying. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug and we just sat. His arms brought me comfort.

"Why are you crying?" He asked. Not in an inquisitive way, but a concerned way.

"It's not because of you. I just don't know." I told him between breaths. We sat for a while. We sat until Bailey returned and she brought the phone back to Storm. We kept sitting there after she left, but I stopped crying. I let go and looked at Kaleb's shirt where my face had just been. My tears left dark marks.

"Lindsey." I looked up at the door where Bailey was standing. "Professor X says you need to go do those chores he assigned you."

"Oh, ok. Thanks." I had to do dinner dishes. There were so many kids at that school and I was the only one on dish duty.

"Have fun." Kaleb said as I got up. I stuck my tongue out at him and we left my room.

Ok, so I don't know if you've ever done dishes for over a thousand people, but let me tell you it has to be the most painstaking job I've ever done. But I will tell you that the dishwasher was the greatest thing ever invented. It was right after I had finished putting all the dishes in said dishwasher and I was sitting on the counter by the sink when Kaleb came in.

"Looks like Eclipse found his way into the back." I said in a semi-mocking tone.

"Oh that's very cute Echo." He replied. He walked over and stood in front of me. He was just so _tall_ and was taller than me even on the counter. "Shay was telling me about how the school is hosting its first annual dance next Friday night."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was kind of wondering if you um… Wow this is surprisingly not easy for me…" I giggled a little at his struggle.

"I'd love to go to the dance with you, Kaleb." I hopped down from the counter and gave him a hug. He lifted me up and spun me around with his strong arms. I only had to rinse and put everything in the dishwasher so we left to go and hang out with Bailey and Shay. I loved it, a normal life finally.

* * *

"And so, he asked me. Sort of. He was stumbling over his words so I had to help him a bit." I told Bailey from where I sat on my bed.

"That's awesome! What's the problem?" she asked.

"Well I have nothing to wear. I know I'm ridiculous and whatever, but I want to look nice, you know. A dress and nice hair and stuff."

"Oh I completely understand! I know someone who could sew you a dress if you want." She suggested.

"Oh really? Well I have to meet them!" She was a really nice girl who said she could make it for me free of charge. I only made one request; it had to show off my wings. Bailey and I helped each other get ready for the big night, only for the students over thirteen. My dress, oh my dress it was perfect. It was sleeveless and low in the back so my wings could come out. The coral pink matched well and it was a soft, silky, flowing material. It was a simple high-low and I just loved it. Bailey looked fantastic in a turquoise a-line that went slightly above her knee. She curled my hair and I straightened hers.

"Bailey, I just made an awful realization." I said while standing in front of the mirror with her.

"What?" She asked.

"I don't know how to dance." I said sheepishly.

"Well, I can teach you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, come over here." She gave me a mini dance lesson, showing me some of the moves she knew and really just telling me to try my own stuff out and see how it goes. "You're a natural!"

"Well that's surprising. Considering the first thing I did when I got here was break two priceless and fragile objects." She laughed at that. "What about slow dancing?" I asked.

"To be completely honest, I don't know how to slow dance." She said.

"Well, I watched enough T.V. to sort of get it I guess."

"You'll be fine." I smiled and we headed out to the gymnasium, complete with bleachers and basketball hoops. When we got there Bailey went to hang out with some other friends, she knew I just wanted some time with Kaleb that night, and I stood by the doorway. Searching and waiting for him. When I saw him coming my way I spread my wings and fluttered them a few times.

He looked amazing. He had gotten some new black jeans and some black shirts. He had traded in his usual t-shirt for a nice long-sleeve button-up. I smiled as he walked up and slipped my hand into his.

"You look beautiful Lindsey." He said.

"Thanks. You too. Wait no, I mean you look nice too not like… ugh." He smiled at my struggle as I had laughed at his.

"It's ok. Thank you." We walked in and I did a good portion of any talking we did. For whatever reason Kaleb was the one dragging me to the dance floor, where I discovered he could dance like nobody's business. I was stunned, watching him was mesmerizing.

"Come on!" He waved me over.

"I don't know; I'm really not that great…" He reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me over. I tried to do some of the things Bailey taught me in time to the beat. He smiled as we danced fast together (yes it was clean. Sicko.) And just laughed.

"You're awesome!" He told me.

"Well you're better." The song faded and ended and the track was changed into something much slower. We stopped as he led me towards the back, away from all the people. He placed his hands on my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Ok, I really don't know how to slow dance." He said.

"Well neither do I. We can try together though." He nodded and we sort of just shuffled around, trying hard to figure it out.

"Do you like it here?" He asked suddenly.

"Well its better than sleeping on the side of the road every night and rationing junk food. Why? Do you?"

"I guess you have a point. And I'm learning way more here in a week than I ever did back in Cove. I just sort of, miss it. Just us, a backpack full of food and a dream; something to look forward to and keep us going. Now that we're here it's just, nothing. No dreams."

"Well, right now you're my dream." (Cheesy, I know.)

"Well, then you have your dream, I'm all yours." I smiled.

"Well you can always dream about the future. Something you want to do once you've finished your education."

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"I want to help mutants. I want to make sure kids don't have to live our nightmare."

"That's sounds like a good plan. Better than my dream of traveling."

"Maybe we could do both. Whatever I do I want it to be with you." He smiled. We danced in silence for a few moments before I spoke up. "Are you ever haunted by the past?" I asked suddenly.

"Like, which past? The more recent travel across the country past or more like my childhood?"

"Either."

"Yeah. I'm always reminded of my dad's death. And that facility. Those kids' faces are always in my dreams. I feel so horrible that they're still there, probably being hurt. Are you?"

"Yeah. The facility thing is the same for me, except my family is what I'm constantly reminded of. I didn't know that dads were actually supposed to like be there for their kids. Families are supposed to have unconditional love for each other."

"That's why we're together though, because I have unconditional love for you." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I love you too." I said. He leaned in and closed his eyes. Our lips touched for the second time and it was amazing. We kissed each other over and over again. We knew there were mutants all over the world that were having a hard time that night, but in that moment we were safe. We were finally home. We had a roof over our head, a bed to sleep on, food on the table and each other. Like two pieces of a broken heart finally whole. And it was perfect.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Well, it's over. It's all over. I'm super happy with the ending, I'm fangirling and I'm the one who wrote it! I am definitely going to write a sequel, but I'm going to take a little break for now. And now, a special thanks list._

_Special thanks to baileylovesyou0400. You are my best friend and you have helped me so much with this. Writing buddies forever my fuzzy walnut bear!_

_Also thanks to Demi Lovato who wrote the song of the same title and inspired me to even write this. _

_And thank you to everyone who wrote review, you are the people who keep me going! Thanks a bunch and I highly encourage you to keep reading even if it isn't my stuff._


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